Holding angels
by AGirlThatDaresToDream
Summary: In a world where the "blood gift" maintains an unsteady peace between the races, Elena dies in a car accident, but comes back as an angel. Held in the Center for Researchers of Species, she crosses paths with a certain vampire waiting for a sign; but he is not the only one hoping she is a savior… A story about love, struggle and hope. Delena. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome reader! Just a few words, before you read this chapter. **

**So: the idea for this story was stuck in my head, for a long time and I finally decided to share it with you. As you will, for shore, notice English is not my mother tongue, so please bear with me if there are any mistakes in the text. Also this is my first fanfiction, so please let me know what you think about it, by clicking the review button. Here you go.**

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**Chapter 1**

A man with coal-like dark hair, dressed in black was sitting at a huge, old looking table in the board room, tapping his fingers nervously and glancing at the clock, like he was waiting for something to happen. The other people in the room were, unlike him, standing and talking to each other loudly even thought it was still early. He knew what they were talking about. This was the first time that they have come over something they never knew existed. He let himself smile, wondering what kind of theories they are going to have for this one. For their last unknown specimen it turned out to be just a very confused werewolf. He never forged stories on rumours, it would be unprofessional.

The sound of door opening was what brought him from his thoughts and he focused his eyes on the man who entered. He was dressed in a white robe with a badge which said: Richard Blakemore -The director of the Centre for researches of species or CRS on short. He looked around forty fife years old, with his greying hair, but Damon knew better than to guess his real age. Employees hurried to their chairs and the room grew silent.

"Thank you for coming on such a short notice" Blakemore said, but didn't bother to sit. "As you may have heard, we received a very special case last night. A specimen of a kind unknown to us yet, something that hasn't happened in last eighty years, so you should all understand that learning about this specimen is our first priority in the moment." He scanned over them with a hard expression on his face. "Due to this circumstances, some other researches will be put on hold or will be slowed down." He stopped for a second till all of the groans died down and the room was covered in silence again. "At the end of this meeting you will be given plans for your researches. But now we have to focus on our newest acquisition. I have selected a head of the new research on the strength of experiences and achievements. This person will be the only one apart from me who will have the access to the specimen. His job will be determining everything about the research, and report back to me about his findings. I expect that if he asks for some help you will give it to him in order to quicken the process. " He paused again to look at the man dressed in black. "The head of this research will be Damon Salvatore, I will choose his two helpers when he will need them. I will not except any complains. My decision is final." Damon didn't even blink when he felt himself being dismembered by the looks of almost every person at the table. "This is all for now" Blakemore continued. "You can come to get your plans… O, and Damon, wait for me in my office… We have to talk about your new occupation."

Damon nodded, stood up and found his way to the door not bothered by his still unfriendly co-workers. He was used of them being jealous, and he could understand why. This was an extremely important case, but they could know that he will be the one to get in, based on this, that he was working here for over a hundred years, from the day the CRS opened its door. The whole purpose of this centre was to provide safety for the community of vampires. They were trying to create a vaccine so that they would be immune to werewolf bites, for example. They will have to make sure that this new specimen is not dangerous to them, or if it is what can protect you from it and found as many information about this new species as possible.

He wasn't even waiting for three minutes, when his boss came. They were working together for a really long time, before the council voted him and he became a director, but they never talked a lot. It wasn't personal, just about Blackmore's approach really.

"So Damon" Blakemore said after he congratulated him on his new research. "I just wanted to make sure you realize that we have to get results of this research as soon as we can, and that you will use all the means we have and be as impartial as possible. Don't let anything hold you back, this thing could be the death of us all."

"Of course, sir. I fully understand the situation" Damon stated through his teeth. This is why they didn't really get along. Many vampires thought the same as Blackmore. They thought of their kind as the best kind, which should overpower all other species, which meant nothing to them if they weren't dangerous. Although he didn't complain over the position of the vampires, he hated this kind of thinking. It was wrong.

"Alright then, the specimens file has number 121, it is based in room 57…" He turned around, found a key with the right number and gave it to him. "There you go… I will hear from you soon."

….

His footsteps echoed through the white corridor and the fluorescent lights were gently flashing above his coal-like hair. He hated this place; it felt wrong. It was too bright, too clean, and smelled kind of like hospital, but it was exactly what it needed to be like.

It didn't bother him like it usually did thought. He was already dressed in his white robe uniform, curious and excited for what he was about to see. Nobody told him anything about the specimen yet. It was the policy here. Only the researchers on the same case could talk to each other about it.

He allowed himself to look to his right, as he started to pass by at least fifty white, heavy door made of metal, with large black numbers painted on them. On every two of those stood a man and nodded to him as he hurried by. He didn't even bother to nod back. …..54…..55…..56….57. He stopped in front of the right ones, looked at them and put on his gloves. Better safe than sorry. There was a small peephole in the door but he didn't want to ruin himself a surprise. He took a deep breath before opening them.

Nothing could prepare him for what he saw in the moment he stepped in to the room. Across it in its corner sat a teenage girl, already dressed in a lightly green hospital nightgown, shaking. What made him freeze thought, were her white wings, wrapped around her.

He believed in God, kind of. He believed in the last judgement, hell and heaven. Now he was looking at the angel. He just couldn't believe it. After all those years someone finally decided to send him a sign? Or she was just a first specimen of new kind? He heard rumours and stories about angels in last year, mostly told by people and he never even thought they could be real.

He stared at the angel who hasn't noticed him yet. She looked young; her long brown hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders and the wings that gave her beauty a mysterious appearance. He jumped as he heard a loud noise of the shutting door. The girl finally lifted her face form her knees and looked at him still visibly trembling and crying, her face full of fear and grief. He was used to specimens being scared, but it was grief that surprised him. She also looked in shock, but he had to get his answers. He walked to her slowly not wanting to scare her more, and squat on the floor about a step away. She didn't make a sound or move a muscle, her eyes following every move he made. He reached out and stroked one of her wings, making her try to get further away from him and squeezing in the corner. He couldn't help himself; he needed to make sure she was real.

"How did you get here?" His voice was quiet but determined.

"I- I don't know" The girl stated, but before she could ask him anything he interrupted her.

"Did someone send you?"

She faced him, still silently crying. "What are you t-talking about?"

God, why couldn't she just answer the simplest question? He grabbed her by her shoulders, frustrated, his voice getting louder. "What are you doing here?" he practically jelled. "Why did they send you?"

The girl was terrified at this point as she screamed, now shuddering even more. "I don't know, OK?!" He stopped yelling and looked at her face covered in tears. "I-It was water. I don't know w-what happened to them… I couldn't breathe."

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**What do you think? Let me know in the reviews. **

**Till next time,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, readers **

**I wanted to surprise you with this new chapter, since you all said that you like the story. I appreciate everyone who reviewed, followed this story or added it at favourites. It means so much to me to know what your opinion is. You are amazing ;) **

**Ok, enough of talking. In his chapter you will see what happened to Elena and also learn more about the position of humans in this world. Enjoy!**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

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**CHAPTER 2**

**Flashback**

The soft spring breeze stroked Elena's face, as she waited for her parents to pick her up. It was around 11p.m., when she said last goodbyes at Caroline's birthday party. It was too big for her taste; her best friend of course decided to invite the whole school, but it wasn't like she didn't expect this. We are talking about Caroline after all. Otherwise it was great: good songs, close friends and the birthday girl's face when she opened the present she got her outweigh everything she didn't like. After almost two weeks of deflection, Matt finally decided to talk to her again, and it made night even better, knowing that even after their break up, she hasn't lost her friend.

She didn't have to wait long, just as she was about to text her mom where they were, she noticed the car lights at the beginning of the street. She smiled at the thought of her parents at the diner date. Two days ago they set todays date to celebrate their fifteen marriage anniversary. Jeremy wisely decided to stay at home, enjoying his time alone, acting like a typical teenager.

The car stopped in front of her, she sat on the back sit slamming the door behind her.

"Hi" she greeted, not bothering to put on a seatbelt. "How was it?"

"Hey sweetie" her mom replied, before looking to her husband, smirking. "Good, just like those times long ago, when we were still young…"

"And we haven't had two teens to look after" Elena's dad added, causing all of them to laugh.

"And the party?" her mom asked.

"It was OK." The girl said. "Great actually: Matt started to talk to me again, and Caroline loved the shoes I bought her. She couldn't stop thanking me… O! And she invited me to the cinema next Saturday. Can I go?"

"Saturday? I don't know yet. We kind of planed to go to the hospital and get over with the blood giving for this half of the year."

Elena pulled a face. Ever since the agreement between vampires and humans was signed, every human between the ages of fifteen to sixty had to give a bag of his or hers blood for this immortal monsters to feed on. This agreement insured them that the vampires won't attack humans. Everybody knew that it was still happening, but not nearly as numerically as it would, if they would broke the deal, thought.

"I'm not going." Elena stated, stubbornly.

"Elena…" Her mother's voice turned strict.

"No, I am not going! This whole deal, agreement our politicians signed is wrong. They only did this because they were afraid, forced or compelled to."

"Listen to me very carefully now Elena." Her father glanced back at her. "We all know what is really happening. But you have to believe me when I tell you this: We don't stand a chance against them. We are lucky they even offered us a deal. If they wouldn't we would all be long dead."

"I know, but…"

"Of course you do. And promise me…" He turned around to face her. "That you will never say something like that in public. Even here we could be heard. It is dangerous, kid."

She looked him in his eyes. "I…" Before she could say anything else, she felt like the car was flying, but only for a moment before it crashed in to the cold water. She couldn't even breathe and after a few seconds of trying to break the car window, she took a last glance at her unconscious parents, right before everything turned black.

She had no idea how much time has passed before she could say she was conscious again. She was trying to catch her breath, lying on her stomach her at the embankment with her legs still in the water. As soon as she realized what happened she started calling for her mum and dad weakly, but no one answered. Something white couth her eyes, and she looked over her shoulder, only to find a pair of big, wet wings on her back. The sound of the siren was the last thing she heard.

**The present**

Elena woke up as the door to her room closed, only to find a plate full of food at the floor in front of it. There was a sandwich, a glass of orange juice and some vegetables on it, and even thought she was too sad to feel the hunger, she knew she was going to need to try to dig in. She is, for sure, going to need the energy.

She stood from the cold corner on the floor where she fell asleep, sitting. Her eyes wondered across the room for a few seconds. It was small; its walls painted white and the only three pieces of furniture were a bed, toilet and a washbasin, which were almost entirely hidden behind the grey curtain. She wiped her still watery eyes and stretch, observing how she was able to move and feel her wings. She had no idea what happened to her. This just couldn't be really happening. She still couldn't believe that her parents might be dead, either. Holding on with everything she had to the hope that maybe this is all just a bad dream and she isn't trapped in the RS-centre, after all. Yes, she was scared. This place was, after all, a part of almost every scary story based on the community of vampires. In almost of them, there was at least mentioned torture. For now all she could do was praying that the stories aren't true.

…...

Damon, stood in front of the door looking through the peephole, a little longer than necessary. Three hours passed since he questioned the girl and got nothing but "I don't knows" and completely scattered answers about water and "them". He had no idea what to think, still hoping that she was just so confused, that she didn't remember anything important. He should start from the beginning, thought.

He entered the archive and soon found last night's records flipping the pages until he saw number 121. He sat on the manky armchair and started to read.

_The subject was found at the end of Mystic Falls, at the Wickery Bridge on May 23, around quarter past eleven p.m.. We received a call from the human emergency medical service , they said that they found a member of the strange kind, which they didn't knew. They described it as an angel. They were called to the Wickery bridge last night by the witness of the car accident in which two adults (Miranda and Grayson Gilbert) died. The witness claimed, that five minutes after eleven p.m., the car crashed from the bridge to the river. The emergency medical service recognized the specimen as Elena Gilbert, the daughter of the mentioned couple. Only then they noticed something was wrong. They also confirmed that there was no possibility that the girl could survive the accident. The specimen was unconscious when our services arrived and brought to the CRS quarters. _

Damon stopped, trying to restrain the hope which was disappearing, quickly substituted with disappointment. But not all was lost yet. He needed to speak to the girl again.

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**What do you think? Do you like this story? What don't you like? What do you think will happen next? Let me know, by rewieving, following or adding this story as your favourite. Every opinion or thought is welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again, my beloved readers!**

**New update again :), despite all of the exams… I couldn't help myself; I just love this story so much… Before you begin, I want to thank you for your all for supporting this story (reviewing, following or adding it as your favourite.) You are the best. ;) **

**So in this chapter you will accompany Damon as he will try to talk to Elena calmly and started his research, and Elena who is trying to keep herself together. Enjoy,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

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**Chapter 3**

She was sitting on the bed, whit her knees pressed to her chest watching her wings gently flap like she wanted them to at the corner of her eyes. It was strange, feeling how the wind she created caressed the feathers. Strange, but beautiful and peaceful at the same time, helping her not to focus on the mess she was in. Not for long, unfortunately.

As soon as she heard footsteps stop in front of her room, she stood up, feeling the cold of the cement floor under her bare feet. She took a step back when she saw the visitor. It was the man from before. The vampire from before, she corrected herself. The one that asked questions. Panic ran through her. She wasn't ready for this. Not yet.

….

Damon hesitated for a second, when he saw how the fear made angels body tense. He knew that if he was going to scare her too much, she won't be able to tell him anything. Hell, he didn't even know if there was anything else for him to figure out.

He opened the case he was carrying in his right hand, less than a second ago and pulled out the girls file, which was still empty, except for the photocopy of last night's record.

He sighed not knowing where to start, trying to be as professional as possible.

"My name is Damon Salvatore and I am the head of your research. You will be informed about any progresses in it." He raised his eyebrows. "If you would like to know about them, of course."

He looked at the girl who was still keeping a safety distance between them, but offered him a small and silent nod as an answer. "Great," he smiled. "Now all we have to do is to fill up this file and then I will have to take your blood sample." He sat down on the floor, right where he was standing before and signalled her to do the same. She didn't move.

"Look, I am not going to eat you or anything, OK? I'm just trying to do my job."

She slowly followed his movements, but not before she took another step back. "So you are going to tell me about what you are going to do before doing it?" Her voice was quiet, but strong. Although she obviously tried to hide it he could still hear the shadow of fear in it.

"Yeah, that's the process," he confirmed, even if only him and maybe two other researchers really considered it.

"Thanks." He looked at her surprised. Thanks? This certainly wasn't a response he expected. It was like she knew, that not everyone here is like him. The hope and curiosity inside him started to grow.

"So… I will ask you some questions for the file now. We will start with the easy ones. You shouldn't have any need to lie to me, if you do, I have to warn you, I will know." She didn't even blink at the treat, just slowly and carefully flapped with her wings.

"What's your name and how old are you?" Was she still the same person, or just a body in someone else's hands?

"Elena Gilbert, I am sixteen." Still the same soul then, he thought, when he noted the data to the file.

She answered all of his questions without restraint, but he could see her becoming uneasy when he asked her about what happened last night.

"The car… When we were driving home we… We were talking; my dad turned around, and lost control of the car I guess…" She was hugging herself now, gently rocking back and forth.

"What were you talking about?" he asked, interested in knowing the answer.

She glanced at him, with a cold look. "It's not important."

He decided to let it go. "Continue, then."

She did as he said her voice so quiet she was almost whispering. "I fell unconscious almost instantly. I couldn't breathe… I woke up on the side of the river like this, when I woke up again I was here."

Disappointment and anger flooded him. "So you don't remember anything from when you were unconscious? You heard nothing? Didn't dream of anything or something like that?"

"Not that I remember." They just sat there intent in their thoughts as the silence lasted. Damon was angry not at the girl, thought, but at himself, for blindly believing in something and expecting a sign. It was just stupid. Her question brought him back, to reality.

"What happened to them? My parents?" She looked scared of the answer.

He closed his case, without even looking at her and head to the door. "They are dead," he snapped before he slammed them behind him.

….

He couldn't remember the last time he felt such disappointment. He launched himself on the chair in his office, after throwing all of the files on table to the floor. He tried to calm himself down, drowning his thoughts in a glass of bourbon. It helped him think.

He sat there for almost an hour, just emptying the bottle and thinking about the world, God, if there was one and the girl. There were two possibilities he was finally sure.

First is that she really has no idea why this happened, but she is still an angel, so there has to be purpose for why she became one. Looks like whoever is up there and runs this world, didn't want her to die. He didn't care if it was the nature or God. If this is true, he will found answers trough the research.

The second was that she was lying, and she actually does remember something she's not telling him.

The first possibility was much more reasonable, because she knows about compulsion, but maybe she had been told not to tell him the information she could be hiding. Well at least finding the true isn't going to be hard, he half smiled, than grew solemn.

He snapped at her, when she just lost her parents. Great job, Damon. She was probably crying her eyes out, not willing to tell him anything by her free will ever again. But what was done was done, he is not going to apologise for it, even if he knew it was wrong. His first priority now was to found out what is really going on.

…...

Elena still sat like she did when he was there, crying with her eyes closed, all of her hope gone with only one sentence. They are dead… They are dead…. The words echoed through her head like a cry in the tunnel. She thought about Jeremy. He must be so alone now, only fourteen years old and already without a family. It was wrong. She should be there for him instead of being stuck here, with the vampire who was only interested this research because he obviously thought she was send to him by god. She stopped at the thought for a moment trying to distract herself, thinking about what the hell did he want an angel for.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again ;)**

**DID YOU GUYS WATCH THE FINAL EPISODE OF SEASON 5?! If you didn't don't worry, there will be no spoilers… Al I am goanna say is this: It is going to be a long wait till next season; it took almost half an hour for my sister to calm me down enough that I stopped crying, and I am still in shock.**

**So here is the next chapter, when I uploaded chapter three Fanfiction was acting up a bit, it was still uploaded, thought, I don't know if you, my darling followers were informed about it… **

**All your thoughts about this story are welcome in reviews ;)**

**Till next time,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

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**Chapter 4**

The rain greeted her, embraced her with thousands of tiny droplets, causing her to giggle. She was running, and twirling on the perfectly green meadow, near the forest, her clothes completely soaked because of the rain, but that didn't bother her. She was happy. Suddenly the raining stopped, causing her to look around confused. The gale started to blow, lifting her of the ground, and she closed her eyes suddenly scared, started to suspect what is about to happen. She didn't have much time to think, thought, because the next moment she found herself in the water, without a breath of oxygen, she opened her eyes only to found herself in the backseat of their car with her parents unconscious in front of her. She didn't give up yet thought, fighting to get them out, until the darkness surrounded her, and she knew she was dead.

….

Elena woke up with a gasp, and buried her face in her shaking hands, wanting to calm down before facing the reality. She did this. She caused the accident because she was so stubborn. It was her fault they lost her parents. She and Jeremy. She has been thinking about him a lot, asking herself if he knew she was here, or buried in an empty coffin with her name on it, alongside their parents. She thought of all the happy memories with her family, which submerge her into a lake of guilt, but calmed her anyway. She wiped the remaining tears away, scanning the room. The fluorescent lights weren't as bright as they were when she fell asleep; the only evidence she had that it was night.

She knew in a few hours, the vampire will come again. His outburst yesterday was rude and it scared her. She noted that she will have to be more careful what she asks and when. After the enquiring, when he left and she calmed down, she made a plan. Nobody knew what happens to the specimens after they learned everything they wanted to know, but she was sure they won't just let her go. So she will do what they will ask, tell them what they wanted to know so they won't be suspicious, but she will have to stay strong and wait for the opportunity to get out of this mess somehow.

She stood from the bed, slowly heading to the washbasin, when the lights started to shine brighter as did her hope of seeing her brother again.

…...

Damon didn't sleep at all that night. He stayed up, trying to learn as much as he could of the girl's life, before she became like this. He didn't found much except what her parents' jobs were, that she has a brother and that the cheerleading team she was in won on some competition last year. No incidents with the vampires or the police. An information witch made him tend to his first possibility more. He looked at the clock; looks like his wait was over.

….

She knew it was time as soon as she heard his footsteps. She sat still on the bad trying to tame her fear, not bothering to turn around when she heard him enter. She took her time trying to collect herself as much as she could before facing him, instantly feeling his eyes on her.

He was leaning to the wall across the room, just staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable as she felt her fear rise, but tried to hide it. She knew she could do this.

He moved towards her slowly, but she didn't move like the last time, just waited. He didn't say anything until he was standing right in front of her looking deeply in her brown eyes.

"Was everything you told me yesterday the truth?" He asked, and she could see his pupil shrinkng and widening. "Did you tell me everything you remember?"

Her eyes widened in realisation. "Are you trying to compel me?" She could see the shock written all over his face as he stepped back for a moment, glaring at her, his voice suddenly rough.

"Did you drink vervain at home?" She didn't answer him immediately and that seemed to irritate him more. "Tell me!" His jell made her flinch as he put his hands on her shoulders shaking her.

She bit her lip trying not to scream. Her family just like most of the others had a bottle of vervain at home, hid safely in their basement. They didn't drink it, thought, saving it for a time when the war between humans and vampires might start again. This plant was illicit for humans to have because of the damage it could do to the creatures who wrote the law about it. She knew that if she tells him about it he will send her brother to prison. So she chose the middle road.

"No, I didn't drink vervain." He let go of her, and she could see that he was trying to control himself again.

"You better not be lying to me." He uttered trough his teeth.

"I am not," she stated, trying to stop her voice from shaking. "Everything I said was the truth, and I did tell you the whole story."

His eyes burned into hers for a few long seconds.

"OK." He said then his voice returning to normal, and she almost signed with relief.

"So… What do we have to do today?" She tried to break the unpleasant silence.

He ran a hand through his short black hair, before glancing at the folder in his hands and replying. "I have to take your blood sample and then we will talk about your wings for a while. If I will be able to push you in to the row, we might also get the X-ray done today."

She could fell a tremble ran through her body as he mentioned the blood sample. A vampire taking blood? Not a good idea.

Looks like he saw her hesitation because he smirked at her. "When I told you I am not goanna eat you yesterday I meant it you know?" He said, taking her left hand in his gently after taking a needle out of his case.

She looked at what he was doing until the needle was drawn nearer her hand and then turned away.

….

He could sense the smell of her blood in the air as soon as he pierced her skin. But didn't let it distract him, like he learned many years ago. When both of the test tubes were filled, he pressed the gauze over the needle before dragging it out of her arm, and taping it with the mikropore carefully.

Despite the shock after he learned that she cannot be compelled, he believed her words, but promised himself that he will try again next time. If she would be on vervain it would be out of her system until tomorrow. But he was almost certain, she knew nothing now. Just a confused angel, who didn't know what its task was, but was led right to him, he thought. And he couldn't stop himself from smiling at the look on her face as she turned and saw that he was already done.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hi readers ;) **

**Here you go: another chapter :) Along with the review for the last chapter I also got a request about the length of the chapters, here I my response: **

**For Sere'sLight:**

**Thank you for pointing this out. I agree they are not as long as chapters from other stories I read on this side, but you should understand, that English is not my mother tongue. Sure I have good marks at it (it's also one of my favourite classes) and everything, but I still spend hours working on one chapter, till everything is as I imagined it and I fix all of the mistakes. That means that is I would write really long chapters you would have to wait for them longer. What is also holding me back is my school work. I was ill a lot this year and even had an operation so I am trying hard to catch up with everything my classmates had already learned and at the same time learning for exams both the ones I missed and the ones on the school calendar. Of course I will try to write slightly longer chapters but after June the sixth, when I finish with all exams. I cannot say that I will be writhing chapters twice as long as the ones before, because that would be a lie, but I will try to lengthen them for you little by little. Also I like that you pointed that out, because one of the reasons that I started to write this story, beside my passion for writing and love for The Vampire diaries, of course, was also to see what will the response for it be. If you find big mistakes anything like that to help me improve my writing even more I already did, or have any questions about the story please just tell me. I will be happy to see that and I will attentively think about all of your requests as they are cultural, as I know they will be.**

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream.**

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**Chapter 5**

She closed her eyes as the needle pierced her skin, not because of the sting, but of fear that she will be drained dry in less than a second. She kept expecting the pain in her neck, but it never came as she heard a popping sound of the test tubes being closed and the vampire stuck the gauze over the still bleeding wound.

Only when she sensed his thumb gently and quickly ran over the bandaged area, she dared to turn around, with knowledge that the mix of relief, surprise and curiosity was written all over her face. She didn't feel the need to hide he emotions in this moment, they didn't show what was really going on in her heart. Sadness and grief trapped in the cage made of fear.

She found herself looking at the eyes of the monster which didn't show its real fangs yet, smiling at her. It was strange how she was afraid of him yet in that moment she was sure the smile is authentic. Maybe she will get some answers tonight after all.

….

Their eyes locked just for a moment and he had to remind himself that she is a threat. He cleared his thoughts. "So, we will go to another room now. It has everything we need and it's also more comfortable, so we will talk there, OK?"

He could see her eyes lit up just for a short moment, at the thought of leaving the room even if only for a few minutes and for research needs before she had time to hide it. But it was enough for him.

He took his walkie-talkie out of the pocket of his white grown, informed the security about their move and she gently flap her wings when his voice cut the silence again. "Don't do anything stupid, OK? The security system here is one of the best in the world; there is no way you could escape." She didn't answer him, so he let her sense the threat in his next sentence. "_Do you understand_?" She jumped, stood from the bed ad took a step back, frightened, her response quiet. "I do."

"Good" he replied just as the security notified him that everything was clear. "Here we go then."

He followed the girl whit his eyes as she hesitantly followed him on the hallway, the guards surrounding her instantly.

…..

The room he took her too wasn't much bigger than hers, but it had a table with two chairs and many medical instruments in it. She could almost feel the sunlight that was coming thought the window and was emphasized by orange coloured walls.

The man sat down on the other side of the table and signalled her to do the same, she did what he wanted but not before scanning the chair for a second. Of course it was made of metal; in fact everything here was made of it or of plastic, not a single inch of wood anywhere. What did they think? That she is dumb enough to try to stake a vampire?

"It's just one of the safety measures." His voice echoed through her ears. "There are many specimens here, you know. Some of them are far more dangerous than you are."

She looked at him with interest, scanning his expression. "You think I am dangerous? Didn't you listen to me yesterday?" She hesitated for a moment at how she should address him, but then just gave up. "I don't know what happened to me."

"Is it OK if I call you Elena?" The question took her aback, but she nodded.

"Well than I think you can call me Damon." He surprised her with this; it didn't quite match his formality yesterday. "And you should know that my job is to find out if you have any dangerous capabilities. My opinion in this research is not important, and is only mine to know."

She nodded in understanding and let a tiny drop of hope fill her heart. He believed her.

….

He could almost feel her relax when she saw the sun shining through the safety locked window. It fascinated him how the smallest things like this, could bring her a moment of joy even in situation she was in. He had researched more than thirty specimens before and none of them experienced a traumatic experience before they came here, yet despite the fear and the grief he sensed even if she tried to hide it she still was hopeful and seemed to keep her naïve believes about the word the same. She truly was special.

"So, Elena, tell me. Can you fly with those wings?"

"I have been asking myself the same thing." She shrugged. "I really don't know. I didn't have time or the will to try before I came here." The sadness in her voice was evident.

"I guess we will have to figure this out ourselves than. I will have to measure them thought, OK?"

He ran his hand, over her left wing, feeling her shiver whit fear, her snow- white feathers softer than a pillow, before taking the tape measure from the table. She had to be sent to him, there was no other option of why something so sacred was standing right in front of him. And in that moment his only hope for Gods forgiveness was to make her time with him as bearable as possible.

….

As soon as he was done she backed away from him. He was being almost too gentle now and it worried her, she was constantly expecting him to yell at her for no reason again, but it was now or never.

"Can I ask you something… Damon?" She tried to sound as normal as possible, but the truth was that waiting for his answer was nerve-racking.

He turned his attention from the folder to her, surprised, scanned her face before saying: "Sure you can, but it depends on your question if I will give you the answer or not."

She swallowed, before continuing. "It's just…. Do you know what happened to my bother? He is underage and I am the only one he has now, but I am here so… He is not alone is he? Does he think I am dead?" She stared at the floor as the room grew quiet, waiting.

She heard him move towards her and couldn't stop herself from stepping back until he realized what was happening and stopped trying.

"As far as I know he lives with your aunt, at your house…" The response came unexpected. "And about you… I am sure he knows you are here, rumours like this spread quickly among humans, although you know he can't do anything about it."

She stared at him, locking their eyes. "I wasn't asking this for me."

…

He lost himself at the intensiveness of her gaze. She sounded almost offended at his last statement, like he was accusing her of being selfish, which she wouldn't be in his eyes even if she would ask that for her hope of being free ever gain to grow.

But her voice softened before she added last three words. "But thank you."

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**I just want to thank everyone who clicked followed/favourite for this story and also my reviewers:**

**Petrovaaa: I am so glad you like the story especially because at first I wasn't sure about posting it. I just want to make sure that you know that your reviews make my day better ;) AGirlThatDaresToDream**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi again, my dear readers :) **

**This is the last chapter I will update before June the sixth; next one will be really interesting and a little longer, as I promised. I left you a tip of what is it going to be about in the last paragraph. Enjoy,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

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**Chapter 6**

He kept toing and froing, right outside his bosses' office, counting the light clicks of the clock, at the start of the long hallway. Just three more minutes… He hated waiting, ever since he was a child this was something he was known for. His mother used to laugh as she saw him almost trembling because of the rush energy, when he was counting seconds to new year out loud, waiting for the party to really begin. It was one of the too few happy moments of his childhood, before it got ruined.

He almost jumped as the sound of the minute hand brought him back to reality. It was his first meeting with Blakemore since he gave him the key to Elena's room and not entirely knowing why he was nervous. He blamed it on the wait. He cursed himself for purposefully coming early, but it was something he learned a long time ago was polite and looked like he will ever be able to wean himself from. So he waited for another tic, before entering the room perfectly on time.

Blakemore was talking on his phone when he walked in, probably with his wife, nodded at him and motioned him to sit on the comfortable armchair. "Ok, honey I promise, but you don't wait for me, I will be late anyway." Damon's eyes wondered over the room, avoiding his bosses face as he was forced to listen to his private conversation, asking himself why he didn't come late again. "Got to go, love you." It was obvious he spoke the truth just from the sound of his voice.

He finished the call and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that. She somehow always manages to call at the wrong timing." He smiled but stopped when Damon didn't bother to reply. "Shall we start then?" It wasn't a question. "What did you found out about specimen 121? Is the research going well?"

Specimen 121. He should refer to her like that too. Like she was nothing, just an object of his research, but he couldn't. Not in this case. Not when he was talking to an angel. Calling her by her name was his gift to her, a gift she didn't even know about, a gift he shouldn't afford, but he did. "It's going great, sir. The blood tests were strange thought, and I am still waiting for the x-ray picture, but otherwise everything is going smooth and quick."

"What do you mean by strange? Her blood isn't drinkable?"

"It looks like it isn't, no. But that is not what I meant. It's its structure that bothers me. It is the same as human blood but with a strange substance added in it, we are still trying to figure out which. The reason for us not to be able to drink it is right this substance."

"So you think this… transformation… could be genetically conditioned?"

"It is one of the possibilities, sir, but we cannot be sure. If it weren't for her wings we could easily think she is a normal human being. The only difference is that her heartbeat is a little quicker. As for the wings… If my calculations are right, she should be able to fly with them, but she is claiming she never had time to try or learn. Oh, and the compulsion doesn't work on her."

"Did she drink vervain?" Blakemore asked clearly not happy about his employee referring to specimen as her, but there was not even a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Damon shook his head. "It would be out of her system by now."

The room grew silent for a moment when the older looking vampire tried to gather all of the information before forming his next question.

"Such a little difference, so much hope," he seemed lost in thoughts. "Did you know what humans think is this thing?"

Damon shrugged. He was more into finding out what the girl is meant to do for him.

"They think it is one of the angels from their stories. They think that it will destroy us and win the war for them, they think it will save them." He watched the other man's reaction before continuing: "Our government forbid human media to talk about it of course… But the rumours won't die down even after we compelled all of the rescuers, to forget what they saw. They are spreading like a spiders net, bringing hope to humans they never should had." His voice was full of contempt now.

Damon waited until their eyes locked again. "We were all humans once." They stared at each other for a small second, tension building, before he continued. "It doesn't matter what they think. Their hope is false. The girl is breakable. I don't know if she can die, but it looks like she has no chance against us."

"For now." Blakemore interrupted him.

Damon bowed his head. "For now."

"So…"after a moment the boss cleared his throat. "You should know that the humans aren't the only ones who want to know more about the specimen. Of course we expected our news to report about it and we gave them limited information, but yesterday I received a letter from Elijah Mickelson, wanting us to weekly update him about the course of the research and its outcomes."

Damon swore in his mind. The Michelson's? Why did they always have to know everything? The family was known as the puppeteers behind the vampires that were elected by their kind every ten years. They were the original vampires, formers of it all. They united the vampires; created their parliament and government, this system... Hell, they even build this centre, somehow convinced human government to sign the agreement and lay their lives in their hands… It seemed like nothing could escape their influence. And of course they were not able to keep themselves away from what was only a threat to them, but seemed to be his last chance to save his soul. They were tyrants, there was not a word to describe them better, but they did a lot for their race so even though they were killing his nerves with all these surveillance measures he could never say that he hated them. They were the reason vampires lived in such luxury and even if he wasn't completely happy with the way they treated humans he would never change that if it would mean that their kind would lost their status. He knew it was selfish but he didn't take it into consideration. Not once.

"So what does that mean for my work?" He asked, waiting nervously for the answer.

"It doesn't change anything about it. Just keep doing your job, getting all we need as fast as you can like we agreed before you started, and we will see each other once a week to talk about the results."

Damon nodded. "As for now, you should found out if this thing is genetically conditioned and head to 121s family tomorrow. When you will learn more about that strange substance in specimen's blood, and get the x-ray pictures, we will talk more."

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**Review and tell me what you think…**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello readers!**

**New chapter is here and it's a long one as I promised :) I finished all my exams and have only three days of real classes left. After that I will have two sports days and then finally get my certificate on twenty-fourth of June. I can't wait for holidays! **

**OK, so this is the first chapter from Jeremy's POV and don't worry it's not the only one. Hope you like it,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

The door squeaked quietly as he entered the room, gasping at the sight that reawakened his emotions the pain and the rage haven't soothe down not even for a moment in last five days, but when he entered his sisters room, they deepened. He staggered to her bed and closed his eyes trying to hold back the tears that were suddenly urging to flow when the emptiness of the room reminded him of what his task was.

Fife days passed and there was still no information about Elena, the only thing he knew was where she was. His imagination didn't give him a break, showing him pictures of his scared sister trapped in the perfectly white room, screaming. It was enough to push him to the edge of the nervous breakdown, his hands shaking like if he would be lying in the snow for an hour and his heart beating way to fast. It was his plan what was helping him to collect himself each time, not Jenna's unsuccessful attempts of comfort. He didn't need them all he needed was to save the only part of his family that was hopefully still able to be saved.

Making unrealistic plans in his head calmed him enough to open his eyes and look around. The room was tidy as always, everything on its rightful place. Elena different from him loved to keep it that way, sometimes teasing him that he lived in more like a cave than a room, because of his laziness. Something didn't look right, thought, a dark pink curtains were pulled over both of the windows, mugging the area of any light, wrapping the room in sadness.

He stood from the bed and walked to the window but not before stopping in front of the mirror, surrounded by family photos. He stared at the one taken this Christmas. The four of them were standing in front of the tree that they just finished dressing with what seemed like a hundred of glassed balls, lighting them with many small colourful lights that caused their smiling faces to look green and red. They all looked so happy in this picture in a big family hug. His eyes observed the picture for a little longer before it was too much, the smiling faces of his parents remembering him of their funeral, clearly seeing their coffins before his eyes and his crying aunt standing beside him. He didn't cry that day, silently promising his parents' bodies that he won't let himself do that before successfully saving his sister. He owed much more than that to them and he needed Elena to be save before losing himself in grief. "I won't fail you" He whispered, before drawing back the curtains, filling the room with what he knew Elena would see as hope.

…...

The house in front of which he was standing looked like a typical family home, its white façade and green shutters radiating cosiness. His perfectly polished black shoes were stamping the grass noiseless, and he could hear the movement inside the house. There was a woman in the kitchen cooking something that smelled like a burned chicken probably in her attempt to make lunch, and there was someone in the room upstairs not moving probably reading or staring at something. He quickly checked the upstairs windows if he was being observed, but he wasn't. Damon ran a hand through his hair as he found himself on the veranda, in front of the door, trying to calm his nervousness and excitement unsuccessfully before knocking. He was never sent to the specimen's home until yesterday, so let's just say that this was going to be interesting.

Maybe this will be the place where he will found out the cause of the girl's transformation, he thought when his fist found the wood. Maybe the secret is hiding in her past.

He wasn't left to wait for long before he heard the woman's footsteps approaching and the door opened revealing a still young looking woman probably in her late twenties with light brown almost blond looking hair and green eyes with plenty of grey, but almost no light in them. She started to speak but he interrupted her, showing her the badge he took from his pocket.

"I am Damon Salvatore from the CRS; I am here to talk to you and your nephew about my newest research." He scanned her face when she stepped back into the house after she processed the information and figured out that he was a vampire, before continuing.

"Your veranda is really beautiful but I would really prefer to talk to you somewhere more privet, if you know what I mean." The colour left woman's face and she hesitated. He let her be, knowing she will do as he proposed. Letting the employee of the government into the house was one of the many vampires related laws and he was sure she wasn't stupid enough to break these.

"Of course, come one in." A shaky response came quicker than he expected.

He stepped in the anteroom with a polite smile as soon as the spell was broken, looking around the living room. "Thank you… Now why don't we go and sit on the couch and you will call the boy down so we can talk?"

….

Jenna's call was what pulled him out of his dark thoughts and he jumped not expecting it at all. Usually he would disregard her, but the sound of her voice screamed that something wasn't right, so he left his sisters room, closing the door gently behind him before heading downstairs in to the living room.

He froze at the sight. On the small table right beside a bowl of cookies, lay a CRS badge. For a moment it was like the whole world stopped as the fear filled him slowly but forcefully and cleared his head. There was a vampire in the house, someone from the centre that held Elena. A vampire. The next think that hit him was panic. Did they came for him and Jenna? Did they do something wrong? He took a deep breath and entered the room, only to be welcomed by a strange man with black hair sitting opposite his new guardian, who looked calmer than he knew she was, her twitch as he walked in to the room confirming that. The vampire scanned him with an unreadable expression on his face before speaking.

"Good, now we are all gathered." He turned to Jeremy. "As I already told your aunt, I am Damon Salvatore from the CRS. I am the head of the research team who is observing your sister, and I am to ask you some questions… Please sit." He mentioned towards the couch Jenna was already sitting on.

Jeremy didn't move. The man who was doing who knows what to his sister sitting not more than three steps away from him and bossed him around his own home? No word would be powerfull enough to describe the amount of hatred and disgust he felt towards the monster, but it was the fear and his aunt's look that made him obey.

"So you are familiar with the law about being questioned by the government employee, right?" He felt Jenna nod next to him. Of course they knew, they were reminded from the human news at least once a week. "Okay than. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

Jeremy clenched his fist behind his back. The vampire was being way to polite, causing the tension to grow every second. Jenna cleared her throat and he turned the attention to her. "I… I was just wondering if you could tell us how Elena is doing." She asked loudly and confidently, but her nephew could see right through her as she looked at the floor. She was scared.

When he turned to the unwelcomed guest a moment later he thought he saw an unknown emotion in his eyes, before his expression became blank again and he shook his head. "I am not allowed to talk about the process of-."

"But…" Jeremy tried to jump in to the conversation, only to be quickly interrupted by Jenna.

"Of course, we understand." He stared at her in shock. Is that really how much she loved Elena, not even trying to fight for her? They used to be almost like best friends, laughing and talking to each other for hours, playing video games with him and before the accident Elena actually promised her aunt to teach her how to cook some basics. His anger started to grow as the vampire started asking questions and ignoring his every single attempt to found out anything about his sister. All of them touching the boarder of what was personal: What was Elena like as a child, did she experienced any traumatic events in her early life, did they notice anything strange when she was young… And they answered all of them until he crossed the line.

"What were her parents and the relationship between the three of them like?"

The room fell silent for almost a minute and his aunt's hand tried to found its way to his, but he shook it away before she spoke, scanning researchers face.

"I am sorry, but don't think this question is acceptable at this time, we are still mourning."

The response came quickly and Jeremy could almost feel the unhuman persistence in it.

"It would be really helpful for the research." He could feel her body shaking next to him as she was holding back tears.

"They loved her very much… That's all I will say." The man nodded, turning to Jeremy again.

"And what was the relationship between you and your sister?"

The boy couldn't even think straight anymore, the hot rage in his heart causing red dots to jump in front of his eyes. He gritted his teeth, really trying not lash out.

"I won't answer this question."

"Well you will have to."

"What did you do to Elena?" He asked, disregarding the statement.

"I already told you I cannot tell you." The vampire's voice grew hard. "Now answer."

Jeremy stood up, his aunt instantly holding him back. "Jer…"

His eyes never left monster's face as he pushed her away. "Don't you dare call me that!"

"Calm down boy, you don't want to do this." Vampire's eyes carefully studied his face.

"You are wrong." The rage was strong, too strong. "What. Are. You. Doing. To. My. Sister?"

"I cannot give you this information. Now stop acting like a total idiot, sit back down and answer the question."

He could feel his feet move, but it was like he had no control over his actions, like his rage was compelling.

The surroundings suddenly became smudged, he heard a scream, and the next think he knew he was pushed in to the wall on the other side of the room, his body trapped in the arms of the monster its eyes drilling in his soul, but no compelling him.

"Stop resisting. _Now_." He stopped as the fear predominated his anger. He could see Jenna still standing in front of the couch, her palm covering her mouth.

"It looks like you have luck on your side, little Gilbert." The vampire stated, and Jeremy looked at him in confusion. "You should both be happy that it was me who was sent here. You realise what you just did was incredibly stupid, right? I could kill you right this second and not even be punished for doing it." Jeremy just looked at him and the researcher must have found something in his eyes, because his tone was different when he continued. "Now because you are really lucky I will make a deal with you… If, and only if, you will answer all of my questions and not case anymore trouble, I will tell you how you sister is doing before I leave. Is that clear?"

The boy nodded.

"Good." The vampire's hands left hid sides. "Now tell me… What was your relationship with your sister like?"

They were talking for almost an hour after that, both him and Jenna telling him everything he wanted to know, hoping they can hold him by his word. When the man seemed to cross all of the questions he had written on the piece of paper he picked up the his case and pulled the two needles out of it, causing Jeremy's body to tense, before the sentences he wanted to hear the whole conversation reached his ears.

"Elena is fine. Almost to fine regarding the situation she is in, she was very shaken and confused at first, but she is better now, she even asked about you. I think that is all you need to know."

After five days relief ran through him at last. She is going to be OK. If what the vampire said was the truth, she could still be saved and will be OK if he will get her out soon enough. He let out a shaky breath he didn't realise he was holding, but his moment of relief was quickly ruined when the researcher informed them that he will have to take their blood.

….

They sat in silence for almost five minutes after the vampire left, and Jeremy could feel the tension leaving being replaced by calmness until it was broken by his aunt.

"So you realize what you did was pretty stupid, right?" She looked at him, her voice soft, like she was talking to a toddler.

"Well at least I did something while you were all polite and obliging." He stood up and headed towards the stairs, but Jenna caught his hand in hers.

"Hey. You know I had to do this, right? He could report us if I didn't invite him in."

He shook her hand away. "Don't even start."

"You really shouldn't lash out at him."

"I said don't"

"Just listen to me for a second." She started to sound desperate, causing him to lose his temper again. She didn't do anything. She didn't fight.

"No, I won't listen to your excuses anymore. You haven't done anything. You probably just faked your love for Elena right; you didn't even try to get information about her out of him! That is the truth, right? You don't give damn about her. You don't give a damn if she dies or is being tortured and god knows what are they going to do to her! As long as you are safe it doesn't bother you." He couldn't hold his opinion back anymore.

"I was trying to protect you!" She stated as her eye filled with tears. "Your parents…"

"Don't you dare to say they would do the same! How you even dare to talk about them? Face the reality, Jenna. They would die for Elena, they DID die for Elena and you are standing here not even trying to get her out? If you are not doing anything you are allowing those monsters to do whatever they like. You are on their side, Jenna. And you sicken me because of it. You are just like them."

He ran up the stairs leaving her in her despair, not caring if she was crying. In his eyes she deserved it.

**Reviews welcome ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi ;)**

**Another chapter for you, an interesting one… And welcome new readers, especially ****Jessica - of Loki's Army, an alert about you following came right before I started to write this authors note, so I just had to greet you in it : ) Hope you like it….**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

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**Chapter 8**

The school bell has rang almost ten minutes ago and the hallway was empty as Jeremy closed his locker forcefully, causing the loud noise to cut the silence. Even though he knew he was late he didn't even bother to hurry on his way to the class. It has been a week after the vampire visited and it was the last time he heard anything about Elena, before Jenna forced him to go to school again. The rumours reached him there, rumours about his sister being some kind of an angel. He didn't know what to believe and truth says he didn't care. All he wanted was to save her, no matter what happened to her, when she was still alive. But time was running fast and his plans were getting more and more desperate.

He found himself standing in front of history class a minute later, hearing his teachers' strong voice even from where he was standing. _The first vampire war. _Great, like he wasn't sick of this monsters already. He entered when he heard a pause in the lecture, walking to his sit quickly, not saying a thing when mister Saltzman raised his eyebrows at him, but then decided to let it go.

When the eyes of his classmates left the boy the teacher continued where he left off. "When the feedings became frequent, our ancestors armed themselves with everything that can harm a vampire and started to form special groups almost like gangs which started to kill their attackers. There weren't many deaths in the beginning but after a few years' time members of these groups became more and more skied, causing many civilian of vampire race to lose their lives... So that's when their race decided to act."

The ringing in Jeremy's ears appeared as soon as the word innocent left man's mouth, causing him to grind his teeth, knowing that he won't be able to hold himself back for long. He should go home when he still had the opportunity. History was always a brainwash, when it came to the parts in which vampires were mentioned, making them look like victims or human saviours and this was the reason he hated it. It was hard not to yell that all this was a lie even before, but now, with god knows what happening to Elena and his friends avoiding him it seemed almost impossible. He closed his eyes for a second trying to think about something nice, but he couldn't remember anything.

"After they guaranteed that their kind is safe, they came to an understanding to protect us and them, which provided a balance between our kinds and shoved us that we can operate together like a normal society."

He couldn't be quiet anymore, he wasn't capable of it. "You mean like a completely totalitarian system, in which we are threatened every day and have to provide food for the ones who think they are above us…."

"Hold it right there." Mr. Saltzman stopped him, before he lowered his voice. "We will have to talk after class." Jeremy shot him a look, but then slugged, not even caring about what kind of rebuke he is going to get. School really wasn't the most important thing right now, but getting told off by the school principle really wasn't one of his plans for today.

….

"Close the door and sit down, please" The teacher told him after they entered his study, his voice not as hard as Jeremy expected caused him to obliged immediately, Mr. Saltzman following his movements and sitting on the other side of his desk.

"Do you know this would be the second warning you got this week?" The man said, but the boy could sense that he was teasing him a little, confusing him.

"Would be?"

"Yes, would be. You won't be getting one today, but you should know what you did was reckless." Mr. Saltzman's eyes drilled in to his, before he added something else that completely stole boy's attention. "You are not as alone as you think you are."

His expression was screaming trustworthy, emphasized by his short sand colour hair, but Jeremy know better than to be naïve. "What…?"

The teacher ignored his unfinished question, handing him a card with an address and a telephone number. "Now if you will excuse me…. I still have some work to do."

Jeremy stood up and slowly walked to the door thinking about what just happened as they closed behind him, subconsciously playing with a card in his palm until he realised that there words written on it with a blue pen and brought it closer to his eye, to read them.

_My house, tonight, 11 p.m._

* * *

Damon stood at his office holding an x-ray picture towards the light again, as he did at least twice a day since he got it last week. He placed it on a special light than so it was easier for him to look and narrowed his eyebrows at what he saw, like he did every time, thinking hard, occasionally browsing through the internet or some of his books, hoping the stories about angels might give him the answer, knowing that if he won't in next few hours, his boss will sign the permission for using "the old fashion way" to unveil the mystery that will help them with the research.

He didn't want this to happen, thought, and cursed when his time ran out. If he would find a clue, just a little clue, he could be able to solve this the easy was. But of course there weren't any. Not a single one. How could it be as they never found a specimen like the girl? He signed and collapsed on his chair, giving in, thinking about what was about to happen, trying to get rid of his bad feeling. It's not like this wasn't a typical process in cases like that and it won't hurt her or anything, it just felt wrong and he could only hope that he won't lose his last chance because of it.

His thoughts wondered back to Elena. She could take this easily, he knew she could, yes her body was breakable, but she was strong. She seemed to be happy to see him every time he walked in to her room now, sleeping the rest of the time. It wasn't like she could do anything else between those white walls; the specimens were not allowed to have any kind of entertainment, and sleep was probably the only thing that didn't drive her nuts. It was hard to wake her, thought, he spent almost fifteen minutes trying, before giving up three days ago and from that on he only entered the room if he saw that she was awake trough the peephole.

The ringing of his phone brought him back to reality and he waited two rings before answering, knowing it was Blakemore.

….

She opened her eyes, slowly waking from quiet sleep, but didn't bother to sit up. Alluding to the lights that shined with all their brightness she could tell that it was still day. Afternoon maybe? Or evening? Surely she had already eaten her lunch. She lost the sense of time, right after this strange tiredness started, causing her to sleep almost all of the time. But it didn't feel like normal sleep where she was usually haunted by nightmares now. It was a dreamless sleep. It was deep and black pressing on her eyes, causing them to close quickly, after she felt it creeping after her. She was only left with a half of a minute before she fell asleep where she was, right at the spot. It scared her the first few times it happened, but now she got used to it, happy that this happened. Sleep was better than being bored, waiting with nothing to do, your mind running in circles, and waiting for your jailer researcher to come to talk to you.

They have formed a kind of understanding over past two weeks, Damon and her, even if they never talked about it. After the first week she could already figure out that he snapped at her because of his own problems, whatever they were, and will not hurt her if it won't be necessary for the research. That and the fact that she was isolated from other people caused her safety distance to shorten and she couldn't say that she wasn't afraid of him anymore, but she trusted him enough that she believed he told her the truth about her research process, answering all of the questions he asked her except the personal ones like about her family, friends or her life before her unexpected transition, even if he was being professional about this she drew the line at her families safety. She asked him many questions about them, but only got little information. Her brother lived at her aunt Jenna; they were both sad but fine, trying to continue their lives as normally as possible. Three facts, that was all, but it was better than nothing.

What drew her out of her misery were only Damon's around thirty minutes long visits, at least twice a day and fascination over all of the things he told her about her new form. Every few days she learned something more, like that her heartbeat was faster than usual and her blood was weird, but what excited her the most was that apparently she should be able to fly. If she could, she would try to put her wings at use the second she received this information, but then the exhaustion kicked in and the room was too small to try anything anyway.

She sat up and scratched, listening to footsteps that echoed through the hall, waiting to hear the familiar ones.

….

It must have been hours before she did. The sound woke her up completely and she stood up, both expectation and nervousness overcoming her as the long determined steps stopped in front of her room door and a second later they opened.

Dressed in a white robe like usual, with his black suitcase in his hand he motioned her to come to the door and she knew they are going to have another of their talks. The security assurance came quickly, but Damon stopped her before she could reach for the door handle, anxious to finally leave the trap of these four white walls and see the sun through the window.

He sighed, suddenly looking tired, when he looked her in the eyes. "Do I even need to remind you?"

She tensed a little, something in his voice and body language making her feel uneasy. "No."

He opened the door for her. "After you, than."

….

He could almost feel her fear as they reached the talk room, as he liked to call it. She didn't smile at the sunlight like she usually did, just slowly walked to her usual chair and sat down, waiting for him to start talking. Of course she sensed that something wasn't right, he should have expected it, but her sense for feeling with people astonished him anyway. Evan after two weeks it still fascinated him.

He took his time, slowly taking her file from his case to the table and reading trough last findings, trying to find something positive, before he will have to tell her about the next step of the research.

"I have two things to tell you about today and we will start with the good one, OK?"

She nodded, too quiet, and he forced a small smile on his face to destroy the tension.

"I finally received the results of the special test they did with your blood and they are quite interesting." He paused, wanting to hear her voice.

"Interesting?" She turned her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"They tested your cells and well, they aren't aging." He gave her time to process the information, scanning her messed hair and her face, before it lit up in realisation mixed with shock.

"I am not aging?"

Her expression was priceless, not failing to make his problems feel smaller. "Not physically, no."

She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and he left her. It was a big change after all, especially for a teenage girl even for a special one.

"So that means I can't die?" She broke the silence.

"It's much more complicated than that." He continued after she looked him with interest. "You won't die from old age, but my co-workers found out that your cells can be destroyed or injured, and you know what that means… You can die if you got hurt or get ill, but not from your age."

"Well, that will take me some time to process," she smiled, all of the tension gone for a moment, before her eyes darkened again. "Now what's the other thing?"

He took a deep breath, wishing he wouldn't have to be the one to push her past brief smile into oblivion. But he told her that he will inform her of everything in the research that will affect her directly. He didn't tell her about his talk with her family because he didn't want to be asked millions of questions that would not be of use to anybody, but he would rather tell her about this now that have to deal with a panic attack in a next few days.

"We found something strange in your x-ray picture." He pulled it out of her file showing it to her, and tapped the small round bright thing, which seemed to be connected to her stomach and one of her main arteries. "It looks like an organ, and we are suspecting that it has something to do with the strange substance in your blood I told you about, but we aren't sure."

He scanned her face, knowing what his next words will cause and chose to use the most formal and fast way possible.

"We will have to do an operation to figure out what the organ is for, and maybe finding out what the substance is."

…...

She stood up completely in shock and backed away from the vampire towards the locked door, hearing her heart running wild. She could suddenly sense the room was squeezing her, feeling more trapped than ever before, one of her worst fears after she came to this place coming true.

_This cannot be true, please say that I am dreaming, please anyone, please…._The sentences kept running through her mind were the only thing keeping her sane enough to ask the only reasonable question in this situation.

"When?" Her voice sounded strange, even to her ears and she had to focus hard to even sense it.

"In a few days, surely this week", came the response from the other side of the room and then she could see him taking small, slow steps towards her, despite her blurred vision.

"Hey, listen to me." He said after he stopped at the border of her safety distance, crossing it when he took her palm in his. "It is not going to be like you are probably imagining right now. You will be given a sedative first, so that you won't be so afraid, you will get anaesthetics and fall asleep. As soon as we will be done we will heal you with some of our blood. When you will wake up, everything will be healed." She could feel him squeeze her hand. "You won't feel a thing, I promise."

She forced her head to form a nod, some of the panic disappeared but not enough for her to calm down. She knew she won't be able to do this until everything will be over, and when she was alone in her room again, she pleaded for the deep sleep to come after her again, the only hope she had was dreamless night and the trust she grew to have in Damon.

* * *

**So next chapter is going to be really interesting, there will be a conversation between Alaric and Jeremy. And I am really worried about the surgery…. How will it go?**

**Review or click follow/ favourite**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi ;)**

**This chapter is pretty tense so I won't be long. I want to thank you, story followers, all twenty of you. This number is really encouraging and if you fell in love with this story at least half as much as I did when I started to write it… You should know that amount of my love towards you is twice as big as yours. **

**And Sere'sLight: A huge thank you for your reviews. You are the best!**

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

The neighbourhood was dark and quiet; Jeremy could clearly hear the church bell ringing in the distance and looked the time. It was three minutes until eleven on his watch, making him feel more uneasy than he already was. It certainly wasn't the best idea to come here alone, he knew, but he couldn't trust anybody, hell , he didn't have anyone to trust. If he would tell Jenna she would never let him go, so he left the house secretly, walking downstairs quietly and slowly opening the front door, trying not to make a single sound and waking her up. He succeeded in that task, but despite he knew Mystic Falls well, finding Saltzman's house wasn't easy, especially when he was stopping and looking over his shoulders every three seconds. It wasn't the dark what bothered him; it was what or who it could be hiding in it.

The house he found himself standing before was smaller than his family's home, but just as white, almost glowing out of the darkness. He headed towards the front door stepping carefully, scouring big hedgerow with his eyes, praying that this wasn't some kind of a trap. He was too paranoid to relax and his heart betrayed him every time he tried, sending adrenalin trough his body, waking it up completely. His movement activated sensor light on the veranda and the boy jumped, his fist resting on the wood, hesitating. This probably really wasn't the best idea, but it was his only hope to really see his sister again, he reminded himself. _I have to do this. _Just as he was about to knock the door opened, reviling his history teacher, who greeted him without a word, just moved so the boy would be able to enter. He did and the door closed behind him with a quiet click, but it echoed in his ears. He felt trapped for a moment and that reminded him who he was here for again.

"I am glad you came, Jeremy." The teacher spoke than, motioning towards the sitting area. "We have a lot to talk about."

Jeremy followed the men's moves and sat on a foetal which was most far away from him, still not comfortable. His voice was quiet as he forced himself to speak.

"Why did you want me to come here?"

"I needed to talk to you and the school is not the safest place. It's less possible that someone would eavesdrop…"

"Would you please get to the point? I didn't come here in the middle of the night to listen to covert hints and rubbish." He was tired of waiting and getting false hope, he had to know the answers now. "Why did you need to see me?"

"I want to help you get your sister back." The response came quick, causing the boy to freeze.

"H-ow do…"

"How do I know you want to save her?" Mr. Saltzman clearly expected him to be shocked by his statement. "She is your sister and you love her, so of course you want her back… It's really not the hardest thing to figure out."

Jeremy closed his eyes for a moment, overcome with hope. This could be his only chance.

"So how could you help?"

"I have a few friends who don't agree with the political order here and are not scared to do something about it. We help the people who want to leave the continent, getting them in touch with the right groups. We also have many sources of secret information. It would take some time, but we would be able to get her out." He stopped for a second and scanned him with his green eyes. "We assume you have information about her, and you know her better, so we decided… Or let's say I convinced them to let you help. If you decide to cooperate I will tell you more."

Jeremy already knew what his answer will be, but had to clear one thing first. "But why? Why would you possibly risk everything to get out someone you don't even know?"

"You heard the rumours. If they are true she will be the one to save us all, we have to try."

"And what if they aren't?" The boy asked, not trilled, the tension returning.

"Well we won't be sure until and if we succeed… So you will have her back in both cases."

* * *

The time kept passing by unnoticed, as Elena slept most of the time, panic rushing through her every time she heard Damon's footsteps coming closer, but he calmed her every time, saying that they are still not ready for her. It was killing her, the wait not letting the fear to leave her heart not for a second so she wondered sometimes… Wouldn't it been better if she would have to go to under knife the second Damon told her about what they are going to do. The sleep was her only shelter, where the fear couldn't find her. It was more and more common, surprising her with its persistence, scaring her. She wished for the dreams to find her desperately, but for a reason unknown to her they never did. She didn't tell Damon about this, thought, convincing herself that it was nothing important, that he didn't need to know but in reality she just didn't want him to take away the only escape she had. It was her secret, only hers.

She was flapping her wings slowly, concentrating on the felling of wind creasing her feathers so much that she jumped when she heard the key turning in the lock. She could feel the panic returning as he walked through the door, no suitcase this time, and looked at her. All of the hope disappeared as their gazes locked for a second. She knew what his word will be before he even opened his mouth, his voice soft but strict.

"Come. It is time to get you ready."

She obliged, slowly standing up, feeling the cold cement under her bare feet and soon after Damon got the security approval, they found themselves in a room Elena was never in yet. It looked like a consulting room but with much more equipment in the small plastic cupboard that were attached to the wall and three computers. The whole area smelled like disinfectant and a smell she didn't know but guessed that was iodine.

Damon led her to the bed in the middle of the room slowly, observing her before handing her a rubber band "I need you to tie your hair and put this on," he mention towards something that looked like a shower cap and was lying on the bed. "While I prepare the things we will need later, OK?"

She nodded using her shaky fingers to untie the knots in her messy hair, that haven't been brushed since the evening before she headed to Caroline's party. Tears began to gather in her eyes as she thought of all of the times her mother did the exact same thing, or how she used to do that every morning, before all this happened. Strange, how she could not recall any other happy memories like she would have to find something that reminded her of them. Probably because of the fear. She wasn't so afraid that something will go wrong and she will die than she was afraid of the pain she was going to feel if this happens and of what this would cause for Jeremy. How alone he would feel then. She wanted to see him so badly, to hug him, to make sure that he was OK, that he didn't lose hope yet… He needed her and she wasn't able to get to him. She hated this place, for stopping her. She was terrified. A tear fell from her eye, silently drawing a wet path over her cheek.

She tensed as someone lifted her head up, slowly, scanning her face, before whipping the tear of it watching it form a small drop on his finger pad. Damon. He must have noticed that she was done already, even if she didn't realise it. It seemed that he could feel her trembling because he let go of her face, finding her hand and squeezing it, his voice a quiet whisper, his blue eyes sympathetic. "Remember my promise?"

She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. "I do."

"Good." He let go, picking up a pill and a glass of water from the cupboard. She looked at it, with confusion and caution. "I told you about it once. It will calm you down, so you won't be so scared anymore, nothing else." She took the glass from him slowly, putting the tablet in her mouth and closed her eyes at the taste, before washing it with water.

"Now, it is goanna take fifteen minutes for it to start working. All you have to do is lie down and try to relax." He left the bed side as soon as she did as he told her and she could hear him opening the drawers on somewhere behind her head, the sign of his presence strangely comforting. She couldn't be resting for more than five minutes when the dizziness started, making her vision blurry, before a strange feeling overtook her, like she would be only able to watch her emotions not being able to feel them anymore, like she would be pulled out of her body. She knew she was afraid, but she didn't feel fear or anything else. She wouldn't like it in any other circumstances, but in that moment all she felt was warmth as she sank in to relaxation. …

Damon could see that the pill worked, when he sat on the chair next to her bed again, her empty eyes making it easy for him to notice. She seemed relaxed now, but he knew it was all a trick, a chemistry trick, useful in that moment, but still. He hated to see her emotionless, like she was broken.

He inserted the canals in after that and stuck the electrodes on her, explaining her what he is going to do and why at his every step of the procedure until it came to the key part. She looked him in his eyes, her mouth and nose covered with a plastic mask as he emptied the needleless injection into her holding her graze until her eyelids fell shut and her breathing changed its rhythm in to slower one, her breaths deeper.

….

"Do you have everything?" He asked the co-worker who was committed to look after the surgical instruments. He closed the cork or the swab test, when the man nodded, smelling the iodine through his mask as he signed in relief. "Then we are done."

The operation went as planned, they opened her, found the strange organ observe and took a picture of it before opening it and taking the swab that will revile what is the strange substance in the girls blood. He had a hard time no to be worried and jumping in his surgeon mode during the process, having to look at her as just a piece of meat after she brought him so much hope bothering him. He couldn't help himself as he scanned her sleeping face, surprised how it can look so peaceful even with the tube sticking out of her troth.

"It is going to wake up in ten minutes, Salvatore." One of his helpers reminded him waking him from his thoughts with a robot like voice.

"I know. Hand me the blood, please. It's time to heal her wound." He replied, eager to do so, not wanting to watch her like this anymore, and moment later the needleless injection with vampire blood was placed in girl's canal. He pushed the plug down slowly, counting to ten in his head, observing the injury for the last time. _Six…. Seven…. Eight…. Nine…. Ten…._ Nothing happened. He waited some more. Still nothing.

"Maybe it is not enough." One of the men cut the silence while other was already holding another dose to him. He said nothing, while he emptied it into her. He has done the computation himself and regarding her body weight one measure should be enough. Maybe he should take into account her wings too after all. The longer they waited the more he became worried. The wound still wasn't healing when he saw one of her fingers twitch.

He panicked. "Get the tube out! Quickly!" He helped one of the surgeons to pull it out of her while the third held her mouth open. Her other palm moved and this time his co-workers noticed it too, screaming that she is waking up and trying to hold her hands in place, handing him another injection, but his teeth already dag into the flesh on his ulna, right where the two stubby veins were, filling his mouth with his blood, before he pressed it against her lips, trying to get as much as he could to run down her throat while Elena's signs of awakening became stronger and stronger.

"Come on, work, come on," he urged, but the girl's stomach was still open and bloody, his hope for the blood to work weaker by the second, but he couldn't give up yet, not on her. He flinched as he felt her whole body jerk and was welcomed by her eyes full of panic and pain as she started to cough his blood up, her body trashing on the table. He screamed for the man to roll her over so she would be lying on her side, fearing that the liquid is going to suffocate her. A scream left her lips before a jet of the blood hit perfectly white tiles, turning them into red ones in a beautiful contrast.

Damon stood in powerlessness, trying to come up with something, scanning the room quickly, seeing the surgeons pressuring gauzes over Elena's wound, so that she wouldn't lose so much blood, but he could see from their faces that they knew what he knew. They had less than two minutes. Another scream left angels lips before she vomited his blood again, like it pained her to have it inside her, like her body couldn't take it… The contrast. She couldn't be compelled; she couldn't keep down the blood, she was sleeping a lot lately… It had to be it. Vervain.

He screamed for the vampires to keep her as still as possible, as he ran out of the room and up the stairs, breaking the house rules, using his full speed, but he couldn't care less. The door of the section in which they were trying to create pills that would, when taken, protect vampire from the effects of vervain flew open, the force he used slamming them into the wall.

"I need a bottle of vervain! Now! It's an emergency!"

Everybody freeze and looked at him, confused.

"Hurry! It's urgent! " The room remained silent and he was preparing to start to threaten someone to get what he needed, when a woman with short black hair stepped in front of him, handing him a bottle. He snapped it out of her hand and not delaying to scream his thanks sprinted back downstairs.

….

The sight when he opened the door of the surgery room again was bad, really bad. The blood was now covering the whole wall he was facing and Elena was trashing around, more and more conscious of what was going on, screaming, the gazes his mates were holding soaked with her blood.

His hands shook as he searched for the injection in one of the cupboards, and tried to fill it with vervain when he found one, making sure to get rid of all the bubbles. He blurred to Elena's side holding her hand as still as he could when she was resisting before the needle pierced her skin at the inside of her elbow and pushed the plug down, hoping he was right and that it will heal the injury. And as soon as he emptied the injection Elena's body stilled as she lost consciousness.

* * *

**I know this was pretty shocking. Review?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi ;)**

**Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter, your feedback was the biggest yet. :) This one is longer than my usual updates are and I really tried hard to finish it until tonight, because I am going on holiday tomorrow to the place without internet connections. So that means that next chapter is going to be posted late, probably in more that fourteen days. I know it will be a long wait but it is going to be worth it, I promise.**

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter**** 10**

The first thing she felt was softness all around her like she would be lying on a fluffy cloud, sunken in its warmth. It took her some time before she realized that her eyes were closed and that she would be able to see the light if she opened them, but she didn't want to. Not now when she felt so safe and comfortable, not being able to remember why she had missed these feelings so much. She didn't care, not until she began to acknowledge the pressure on her palm, and light pain in her abdomen, the sense of security leaving her quickly, making her restless. Something was wrong. Her eyes became aware of the aggressive light, shining through her eyelids, forcing her to blink just to be welcomed by the sight of a florescent light on the ceiling, before a soft voice cut the silence, startling her.

"Hey." She flinched, trying to back away from the speaker who seemed to be on her left side, only to be stopped by powerful stab of pain. She heard the sound of the chair drawing black lines on the floor, the pressure leaving her hand and before she even had time to cry out Damon's hands laid her back in her previous position, carefully. "It's me. Please don't move, I know it hurts and it isn't good for the wound. I will explain everything, just don't move…"

She glanced around, trying to figure out where she was and found herself in the same white room she knew so well, the only difference was that the bed was different, a stand with an infusion bags which weren't attached to her standing next to it. The memories came back to her after the words left his lips, last ones nothing else but a blur of shouting, pain and red liquid that tasted like metal.

"And drink this first." He started lifting her head up, bringing the glass which certainly wasn't filled with water, towards her lips. She panicked, turning away.

"What's this?" Her voice sounded strange, too raspy.

"Vervain. I know you don't understand what happened and have no reason to trust me anymore, but you have to drink this, OK? It will give you strength."

She let him help her to get the liquid in her, getting used to the taste, holding vampires graze as she took small, slow slips. She never drank this herb tea, yet. It was far too worthy, that one bottle that her family possessed being the only protection they had if the war would start again. How could it give her strength? Why wasn't she healed? He promised her that she would feel nothing and now his eyes were full of guilt. She sensed energy gathering inside her again, immediately, when the last drop fell in to her mouth. She really needed to know what caused him to break that promise.

"What happened?"

His eyes left her face and he stared into the distance. "Everything went as it should; the operation was successful and nothing strange happened until we tried to heal you up with vampire blood. It just didn't work, not even when we exceeded the dose that was suitable for your body weight and you started to wake up… So I tried to feed you my blood, but you just threw it up, like your body couldn't take it. The whole situation went wrong really quickly and as I tried to come up with a solution something happened that brought me to the point where I started to link facts together. You cannot be compelled and there is something strange in your blood, you couldn't keep mine down… So I thought that maybe vervein would help. You lost consciousness right after I injected it to you and, well, you were asleep ever since."

"How long?"

"Almost two days. Your body turned all of the energy it had into healing the wound. We sew it up, of course, but it is still healing slowly, a little quicker than human wounds do, thought."

She closed her eyes trying to slow down her thoughts enough to form another question. "So the thing in my blood was vervain? Does…"

He must have figured out what she wanted to know, stopping her. "Yes. You need it to survive. I have done some calculating and a glass a day should be enough for you to function normally."

They both seemed to get lost in their thoughts, as the room grew silent, Elena still dealing with all of the facts. Not being able to keep vampire blood down, like vampires couldn't keep vervain; they needed blood, she needed the herb… It looked like she was the complete opposite of them, and it scared her. If things were like this now, how would they be if they thought she was their natural enemy?

….

He stared at the girl, trying to imagine what she was thinking about. What would he think in a situation like that? He didn't know. But he owed her something. Something that would probably not mean much to her, but a whole lot to him. He needed to apologise to her, something he hasn't done since more than a hundred years ago, yet it felt like it was a thousand. It was one of his life rules only to say he is sorry when he really meant it, when he really felt remorse and that didn't happen often. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, his sudden movement catching her attention and before he knew he was staring into her eyes, her gaze making it easier to do what he must, his lips started to move before he even knew, his voice quiet, but determined to show his emotion.

"I'm sorry."

Her eyes scanned his face for a while, but it looks like they found what they were looking for as she took his hand in hers. "I know."

He laid her hand back on the bed after he broke their eye contact and stood up. "Ok… Then I will just… leave you to rest and brought you another painkiller in a couple of hours." He headed toward the door, but stopped when he felt her catch his hand in hers again turning around. He understood what she wanted as soon as he saw her expression and sat back at the chair on her bed side, not completely facing her as they sat in silence. Who would he be if he would take the only comfort she could have away from her? He brought their hands loser to his chest, slowly drawing small circles at the back of her palm with his thumb as she started to talk, her voice distant.

"I think I was six then. We were sitting in front of a TV which was on mute; mum, dad and me doing nothing really, just cuddling and listening to the sound of wood cracking in our fireplace. I was almost asleep, my head on my mother's chest while dad wrapped arms around both of us…" She paused for a moment, letting out a shaky breath she was holding. "And I was able to hear their hearts beating, and they voices discussing plans for the next day quietly. It just felt like… like I was safe, careless, just lying there…" She stopped talking, and Damon knew that she was remembering that moment that was secret to her, while he wondered how many times since she was here she escaped in it, continuing with his slow movements and never cutting the silence that wasn't caused by the fear and tension, but was full of peace.

* * *

The music was playing so laud that his ears were hurting, stiffening all other sounds that he would normally hear at this part of the day, causing him to notice that his alarm clock was ringing after it already fell from the shelf, the glass breaking and the clocks hand stopping at four a clock in the afternoon. He took his headphones off, picking the broken device and examining the damage. Today will be the second time he will meet Alaric to talk about the plan… In exactly half an hour. He will have to hurry.

He stuffed his phone in the bag, not bothering to put his drawing notebook and pencils out of it. They were as important to him as Elena's diary was to her; the only difference was that he was expressing his feelings and plans with lines and not with words. It would just feel wrong to keep this stuff at home, especially when he didn't know what exactly they would talk about tonight, only hoping they will start making a plan as soon as possible.

He walked down the stairs quickly, noticing Jenna in the kitchen, ignoring her when she asked him where he was going, slamming the front door behind him. He was still angry at her, even though he knew that she was trying her best to protect him and wasn't angry at her any more for her behaviour when the vampire came. He knew that the guilt will force him to talk to her soon. Although he didn't plan on telling her that he will try to save his sister, Mr. Saltzman and he agreed at this completely. She would only try to convince him not to get caught in illegal situations and would also be in danger if they wouldn't succeed. Sure, he will have to tell her once, but not today.

He found himself enjoying the sun, while he was heading toward the teacher's house, feeling its beams caressing his face, remembering how Elena used to stop in the middle of the road, smiling at the shining star, with her eyes closed and her arms high above her head. He tried to get rid of the memory as soon as thoughts of how she should be feeling know, probably not even being able to see the weather outside entered his mind. He needed to get her out.

He twitched at the sound of the car starting, the man he was supposed to meet with rolling the glass pane down, motioning to join him in the vehicle. He did so, surprised, putting the sit belt on as they already left the street.

"Mr. Saltzman?" No response. "Where are we going?" He tried not to sound like he was scared.

"First: Its Alaric or Rick from now on, I will let you decide on this one… And second: I can't tell you exactly… Some other members of the group want to talk to you before they except you in the rescuing as their opinion are still mixed. But you have nothing to worry about," he said probably noticing Jeremy's tension at the thought of driving into unknown, to talk to unknown people and smiled at him. "They won't bite."

….

They were driving for what Jeremy thought was almost an hour, but the clock said otherwise as the car shook from the holes in the forest macadam. They left pavement roads long ago, Alaric explaining that they have to make sure he won't remember the path to their meeting place. He was growing more nervous and tense every minute, not even trying to calm himself, knowing that it wouldn't work in the situation he was in so his heart beat was way too fast and his palms sweaty as the car stopped in front of wooden holiday cottage.

"We are here." Alaric put the car key into his pocket before tapping boy's shoulder and getting out of the car. He motioned for the boy to knock, the door opening before he could prepare himself and suddenly around thirty years old woman, with a long, messy, sandy blond hair and grey eyes was looking at them, but only addressed Alaric.

"You are late again, Ric. We've been waiting." She said, trying to mimic an angry voice and hide a huge grin that was fighting to stay on her lips.

"Nice to see you too, Lynn." The man smiled, as she pulled him into a quick hug. "And I have an excusable reason this time, don't you think?" She grew serious after the words left his lips and she scanned Jeremy from head to toes, her voice hardening before lighting up again. "We will see… Come, Ethan really wants to finish this thing before it gets dark." They followed her trough the hall, the adults still talking, giving the boy a chance to look around. The interior of the house was as beautiful as the outside, every object reminding him at the beauty of nature. His observing ended soon, thought, as they heard the sound of claws scratching the floor and were soon welcomed by a big, smiling lump of white fur. Alaric patted Samoyed's head as the dog welcomed him, before turning to the woman again, sending her a "seriously, again?" look.

"What? Kay has to work today. I couldn't just leave him at home alone." The roll of his eyes was the only respond she got, before they walked into the lounge that was joined with a dining room. Two men were sitting at the table, talking seriously, but stood up instantly when they saw them enter, roughly hugging Alaric as he tapped their backs. They both looked older, one of them had a dark skin and short, black hair wearing glasses, while the others skin was white, his brown greying hair a prove that he is the oldest man in the room..

"It's good to see you, man." The brown haired one said, before looking at Jeremy. "And I see that you succeeded." He walked towards the nervous boy, offering him his hand. "You must be Grayson Gilbert's son. I' am Ethan…" he pointed towards the other guy after the handshake. "This is Jonas Martin…" The man with glasses nodded towards him. "And I see you already met Lynn. Why don't we just go sit on the couch and get something to drink? It will be more comfortable to talk."

….

"How old are you young Gilbert?" Ethan's raspy voice cut the silence that grew in the room while they were slipping their drinks.

"Fifteen." Jeremy answered; not sure what turn in their future talk this number will cause, but relaxed when the men only raised his eyebrows.

"And already determined to save your sister from the vampires. Want to renew your old family tradition, huh?" The boy looked at him confused, he couldn't mean his parents. They always put too much energy trying to protect them from the monsters. They would never risk their safety fighting a secret battle. "Your great grandpa was one of the best vampire fighters in town at his time and he was thirteen when he started practicing." He smiled as he saw Jeremy's more and more confused face. "No I am no that old. I own one of his diaries, very interesting one I must say; it shines a light on man's hidden truths…" He seemed to get lost, remembering what he read, but the boy didn't let him continue.

"I am not starting the family tradition again. I just want Elena back."

Ethan scanned his face before nodding. "I know. Tell me than… Do you have any information about her or her abilities that could help us get her out?"

"I don't know anything about her abilities, if she has them they must have manifested after the accident." His words were almost unintelligible, because he talked with such speed, reviled that they were at the start of making of a rescue plan. "I only heard the rumours…"

"Which ones?" A man with the glasses talked to him for the first time, curious.

The boy took a deep breath. "About her being some kind of a saviour, some say sent from God, others created by nature."

"And do you believe them?" Jonas asked him.

"I didn't think about them much, I don't really care if they are true or not. I guess I will see when we get her back."

"You seem very sure that we will succeed." The woman eyed him, his words reminding him that his sister could already be dead. But he refused to believe that.

"Well as far as I know she was fine two weeks ago that is if the vampire told the truth of course…"

"What?" Both Jonas's and Ethan's voices interrupted him, but Alaric was first to collect himself. "A vampire came to talk to you? At your home? What did he want to know?"

"Well, yes. One afternoon he just came, started ordering me and my aunt around our own house, asking all kinds of questions about Elena, saying that he needed this information for the research, took our blood and left. I somehow managed to force out of him that she was OK."

"Why did he need your blood sample? And as far as I know that kind of a questioning isn't usual either." Jonas stated.

"Well at least we know one thing now; it is not much but anyway. Looks like the vampire that is the head of girl's research owns a daylight ring, it's a pretty rare thing this days, usually only the most important ones has it." Ethan said. "As for the other things… We really should ask Rose to help us out. Then we could start planning…"

"Hey, hey, hey, hold your horses." Lynn jumped in. "You seemed to forget that all this today was organized to figure out if the kid can join us and figure out if he is trustworthy. If he chickens out and tell on us we are all dead. Let's just decide about this first. "

"I don't think there is much left to decide, Lynn. He already knows who we are and that we are going to try to break into the CRS." Alaric pointed out. "He was in the minute we contacted him."

"Maybe, but still he is fifteen, for God's sake and…"

Jeremy didn't waist a second, interrupting her. "If you are trying to say that you don't want to ruin my life or endanger me, you have nothing to worry about. It has been like this since the second they took Elena. Nothing is in your hands." Four pairs of eyes fixated on his face as he spoke, before exchanging glances, telling each other what they think without a word. There was a minute of silence before Ethan spoke, offering him his hand.

"Then we agree. Welcome to the club, kid."

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

**Hi readers ;)**

**Another chapter is here and it is a long one again! It looks like something was wrong with the alerts the last time I posted, so go and read chapter ten first, if you didn't yet.**

**I would like to thank a guest reviewer Sorrybout'ya. I love to hear that you are really excited to read more and your reviews are just amazing. ;) **

**What else can I say? Enjoy.**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Three days, that's all I can give you." Blackmore's voice echoed through his in half dark wrapped office, black curtains veiling the outside view to protect every vampire without the daylight ring that would came here to talk, causing Damon's pupils to widen. He came on his weekly meeting with his boss, asking for one thing only: time. He never craved it like this before, not just for him, but for the girl as well. He needed it for her with the research still slowly but decisively coming to an end, and after so many years spend in this job, he didn't need to be reminded what happens when Blakemore estimates that they figured out everything there was to learn. But they didn't knew that he had so much to find out, he still needed to get to know the girl to see if there was still a possibility that his hopes are real. And besides; he owed her that much. Extending the process was his only chance and the girl's physical condition his only excuse.

"The CRS lay says that in cases where specimen is hurt like that the research is stopped for at least five days, giving it time to heal…" Damon let his voice to wonder off, his brow raised, trying not to sound like he is demanding anything.

His boss laughed. "Look. I know you probably hoped for longer vacation, but with Elijah watching our every move, this is all I can give you. This is an important research after all, and three days is just enough for your specimen to heal enough to not be close to dying every time you tried to take its blood. It should also be enough for you to rest, but after you end this process, remind me that I promised you a week off, OK?"

"That seems like a good plan," Damon forced a smile, before shaking the hand he was offered. "I will surely hold you on this one."

"Well you should, you deserve it." The boss answered and their appointment was over.

Damon stood up, closing the door behind him, his mind already focused on the girl, the questions he wanted to ask her running through his head like a waterfall. He didn't have much time to think, though, waking from his thoughts as he automatically headed towards the other end of the hall, not even being aware of his own movements until he bumped into something before taking a step back and realising that it was a woman.

"I am sorry," she said, glancing at his face, a strange look on her face surrounded with short, dark, spiky hair, her voice apologizing, but he could sense something playfully scorning in it. "I wasn't looking where I was going, I guess."

Damon scanned the hallway it was empty. If there was a chance that her move wasn't deliberated it was a small one especially because she was a vampire. Something was off.

"It's OK…" He read her badge, raising his eyebrows sarcastically. "Rose."

Her light green eyes scanned him again. "That's right. We met before, actually. I gave you the vervain you needed, remember?"

It took him a moment to connect her with what happened, before thanking her. Sure she was strange, but without her Elena would probably be dead.

She smiled. "Did mysterious, uptight Damon Salvatore just thank someone? Gosh that will certainly make it in to the new history book they are making."

He just stared at her, clearly not trilled about her comment. She was starting to get on his nerves and he was ready to snap and her next question coughed him completely off guard.

"So how is your research going? Made any progress yet?"

He stared at her. The first and most important rule of the institution they worked in was that they workers shouldn't exchange any data about their research; they weren't allowed to ask about it or talk about it at all. There was no way that she wouldn't know about this.

"Are the rumours true?" He stared at her, still trying to get himself back together. Was she trying to get him fired?

She must have finally noticed that she won't be able to get anything out of him, shrugging. "Everybody is curious, you know? They are making theories about what this specimen is every day at the lab. But they are chickens, and they never ask anyone."

Damon shot her a warning look. "Maybe they are just smart."

"Maybe, who knows? It was good to see you again Damon." She smirked at him, before leaving him alone, still shocked standing in an empty hallway.

….

Elena was blankly staring at the ceiling, the pain annoying her far less than boredom. Now, with enough of the herb in her system, the dreamless sleep disappeared leaving her wide awake, trapped between four walls, so there was nothing left for her but lying with her eyes closed, resting and trying to imagine what it is going to be like if she ever sees her brother again while waiting for Damon to come and see her like he said he would.

He came sooner than she thought he will and she couldn't help to notice that there was something troubling him, when he sat at the edge of her bed; he was thoughtful, quiet, but she didn't dare to ask why. Not yet.

"Hey," he spoke quietly, taking her hand without hesitation. "Feeling better?"

She shrugged. "I guess so… The pain is still there, but it is a bit weaker that yesterday."

"That's good." Damon replied, digging in his suitcase for a while, before pulling out a needleless injection. "Want something for the pain? When it will kick in we will be able to see if you can sit for a few seconds."

She nodded despite the fear of the pain she knew movement will bring her. She knew she needed to try if she wants to get out of this stupid bed soon so she let him empty the content of the needleless injection into her canal slowly and drank the vervain tea he handed her. It was not before their eyes locked when she finally realised how much his trust showed in this little act. They both knew that the herb is toxic to vampires and that it wouldn't be hard for her to spill it on him. But he trusted her with it just as she trusted him. And her thank you as she passed him the glass back meant much more than he will ever know.

…...

He stared at the girl for a second as the silence overtook the room. Her eyes were closed, her hair unfolded on the pillow and he could see the knots in them from where he was sitting as he caressed her soft hand. She looked so peaceful, like she wouldn't have to worry about anything, but he knew it was a lie as soon as a question left her lips.

"So what do we have to talk about today?" Her voice was fearful, like she was expecting him to say that they had to do another operation. He hated himself for causing her yet another fear, for what he did and for more than anything for what he will be forced to do when the research is over. She shouldn't have to have all this worries, this insecurity, this fear.

"What would you like to talk about?"

She looked at him, confused her question careful. "But… What about the research?"

He smiled at her squeezing her hand. "Let's forget about it for a while. Now tell me…" He searched his case for the book he brought her. "Do you like to read?"

The change on her face was amazing. Her eyes lit up, her lips forming a huge smile and for the first time he was able to see the expression of pure happiness on her face, even if only for a few seconds before a shadow of her previous emotions showed again, but it looked like it wasn't able to overflow her fully as she took _The call of the wild_ by Jack London in her hands. And he didn't need an answer at his question; the way she looked at the book said it all. She loved it.

"Thank you so, so much."

He couldn't help but laughed. "It is nothing. Have you read it yet?"

She nodded. "It was at summer holidays a long time ago, but I liked it." She stopped for a second, probably trying to remember the contents, a smile still lingering at her lips. "It is a good book."

"It's my favourite." Their eyes locked just for a moment, before she broke the contact, her voice hesitant again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he agreed eager to hear what she wanted to know.

She looked scared again. "How do you cope with it? Living for so long, watching the people you know die, not being able to do anything about it?"

He thought about what to say for a minute. She didn't ask him this because she wanted to know the answer. She wanted advice, feeling trapped, knowing that her brother and aunt are living their lives on, while she is stuck here with nothing to do, not aging.

The words flew directly from his heart. "I tried to stay the same, clinging on good memories and my believes, appreciating the smallest things in life." Her doe eyes gazed intensely at him as he placed her palm on her heart, covering it with his. "You must never lose hope."

* * *

The pencil he was holding in his right arm was hovering above an empty page, sketching shapes he wanted to draw into the air. He never devoted much though at what he pictures looked like at moments like this one. He just drew what he felt, pouring his emotions onto the paper. Every time he closed his eyes the replay of what happened a few minutes ago appeared and he watched it few times before he tugged the first line.

**Flashback**

Alaric and Jeremy could hear Jonas's laughing as soon as they entered the house, as well as Ethan's complaints – they were playing poker at the dining table and it looked like he lost for a couple of times already. They were talking for a while about normal stuff, just chatting, waiting for the others to arrive to the first meeting that will include him too. They heard the two voices, obviously trying to get a dog to behave soon enough and meet the couple at the door.

One of them was Lynn and the other a man who looked around her age, his hair a little longer, gently curled, its brown colour shining on the sunlight as he held the dog's leash tightly. After both men at the door greeted them, Ethan still dwelling in the kitchen, Alaric pushed the boy forward.

"So Jeremy, I would like you to meet Kylan, Lynn's husband. Ky," he gestured towards his student. "This is Jeremy."

They shook hands, Kylan giving him a small smile. "It is nice to meet you."

"You too." Jeremy returned the gesture, but before he could say something more, he was interrupted, by Jonas's statement.

"We haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Work and all…"

Ethan entered the room with his hands crossed, struggling not to show happiness in his fake offending voice. "And that is your excuse not to visit your old mentor in over two weeks?"

"I called you every second day," Kylan just raised his eyebrows, before he was pulled in a hug.

"Well at least you kept me updated," Ethan smiled, tapping his back, before pulling away and scanning his son at heart with a strict gaze.

Lynn laughed before taking her husband's hand and messing his hair. "Oh, don't worry too much Ethan, you didn't miss a thing. He is just as childish as he was eight years ago."

"Hey!" Ky tried to squirm away, but it was already too late.

Lynn ignored him, taking a deep breath quickly. "Wait, actually you did miss something. Yesterday…"

Kaylen saved himself from embarrassment this time, stopping her words with a long kiss, until Alaric intervened, smiling.

"Okay, okay, lovebirds. Let's move thing into the living room where we will be able to talk."

It looked like the others agreed, because the room emptied quickly, leaving the boy alone. The scene hurt him. They looked like a family, caring about each other, laughing, teasing and joking around, but he knew they would probably risk their lives to save one another. No, he wasn't jealous, just scared, sad and lonely, when the scene reminding him of all the happy memories he had with his parents and his sister, the realisation that he doesn't have anybody anymore, hitting him like a train again. He had Jenna, yes, but it wasn't the same, she wasn't them. She will never be able to be them. He stayed in the room alone, leaning his back against the wooden wall before sitting down and taking his drawing notebook out of his bag, not showing any interest in joining the adults.

**The present**

The sketch was almost done, his pencil almost blunt, when something poked softly into his side, trying to get his attention. The dog's black eyes stared at him, full of sympathy as it rested its head over his notebook, waiting to be pet and preventing him from drawing more, its wet snout sniffing his sleeve. Jeremy established what the animal wanted from him, quickly obeyed and smiled as the big dog tried to pave its way further onto boys lap.

"Hey, hey, easy there. Aren't you a little too big to be a lap dog?" Jeremy laughed, before an enormous weight fell on to his chest, causing him to gasp as he felt his lungs squeeze.

"He really likes you." He heard a young men's voice that startled him and turned around quickly. At the other side of the small room stood a male, which looked like he just ended high school, his hair was black and really short, his skin a little darker, the motorbike helmet under his left arm. The boy was sure he has seen him at the Grill a few times, but didn't know his name. "He usually isn't like this around the people he meets for the first time."

"For the second, you mean." Jeremy stood up.

"Well even for the second, then. You surely have a thing for dogs. " He offered him his hand. "I am Luka, by the way, Luka Martin, Jonas is my dad. And this," he pointed at the dog. "Is Max, Lynn and Kaylen probably forgot to tell you."

"Jeremy Gilbert." They shook hands. "Did you go to school here? You seem strangely familiar."

"I did, yes. I actually moved to Richmond no more than a year ago when I started university there. I study computer science. And you still have a few semesters to go I guess… How old are you actually?"

Jeremy tensed a little, not so relaxed anymore. "I will be fifteen in October."

Luka whistled, rising his eyebrows before stating: "They really are lowering the reception border; there was no way I could convince them to take me in before I was seventeen." He smiled, for a second lost in his thoughts, before remembering: "We should probably get going or the meeting will start without us. They sent me to bring you to the living room, you know."

"Ok." The boy hurried to staff his things back into his bag, before following his new acquaintance.

….

"OK. Enough of the chatting, people, let's get to work." Ethan clapped and the room slowly grew quiet. "So let's start from the beginning. What do we already know?"

"I was asked to falsify the data of that night's event so I know quite a lot." Lynn spoke, her voice completely different from what if sounded like before. There was no emotion in it, she was just listing the facts. "The accident happened around eleven a clock at the old Wickery Bridge and someone called an ambulance. I was able to get to the medicine man's statements before the government blocked the data. When they arrived at the scene the car was completely under the water but they noticed that someone was lying unconscious at the embankment. They said that they noticed something was not right, one of them recognize Elena but they noticed that she had wings so they were scared a little and called the CRS just like the law is demanding. A few minutes later the vampires from the centre arrived and left with the girl."

"So the whole angel thing is true…" Alaric stated. "But there was no evidence that she has a special power or something?"

"Not that night, no."

Kylan was the first to break the silence that occupied the room, scanning Jonah's and Luka's faces. "So what do you guys think?"

"We can't say anything yet. We would have to spend time with the girl so that we could see if there would be any normal signs of magic, or at least talk to her. There certainly is a possibility that she has power, even if there wouldn't be any signs, she is certainly not human anymore and that is as far as my knowledge goes." Luka explained, after glancing at his father whose pen was floating a few centimetres above his hand. Jeremy's jaw almost hit the ground. Witches were supposed to be extinct in America.

Jonas nodded. "I know many stories about angels, in one of them they are just signs and don't have magic, in others they are some kinds of warriors and leaders and they have it. We don't have to worry about this now. The girl is important either way; we won't know what we are dealing with until we get her out. Let's just hope that is she has powers the vampires didn't notice yet."

"About that," Ethan jumped in. "I called one of my friends last night, you know from other group and he connected me to one of his spies at the CRS. She agreed to help us, so that we will be informed on what is going on. So Rose, that is her name, told me that a few days ago the head researcher of Elena's ran into her lab, dressed in surgeon clothes and screamed that he needed vervain. She figured that there was probably an operation that went wrong, but she is still trying to figure out the whole vervain thing."

An operation. Jeremy felt sick, but tried hard not to lose it. He needed to stay strong so that he will be able to save her. Alaric put a hand on his shoulder squeezing it in support, before they heard the noise of the door shutting and turned around to be welcomed by no one else than Bill Forbes, Caroline's father. Jeremy didn't see him in years, since he left Elena's best friend and her mum when the girl was only nine years old and never returned. Nobody ever talked about why this happened, so he never asked.

"I thought we were fighting the vampires not linking up with them." His voice was raspy and the boy didn't miss that no one really welcomed him, just nodded, what didn't seem to upset him.

"We need to this time, Bill" Ethan stood up, shoving Jeremy in front of the men gently. "You probably know Jeremy." The boy felt like he was guilty of something, when the grownup's eyes scanned his face.

"Indeed I do. He's grown." He paused for a moment before meeting Kylan's face. "You sure he won't do what Nate did?"

Ky stood up, sending the man a death stare, until Ethan put a hand on his shoulder, the hurt in his voice evident. "That's enough, Bill. We have more important things to discuss and no time to wait for you to start acting your age."

The man sat on a chair on the other side of the room, the victorious smirk still on his face as he watched Kylan's expression. "That we have."

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	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter**** 12**

The telephone rang and rang, causing the pen next to it to vibrate and Damon ran a hand through his hair, as he heard Blakemore's voice leave the massage for him, asking about the research. The pause in the process was supposed to end a week ago, but all he did since that day was talk to the girl about anything she wanted to talk about, and the folder he should be filling was full of lies. He lied at the meeting with his boss, indirectly lying to one of the most powerful vampires on this earth, he did all that, just to gain time.

He realised a while ago that he wasn't doing this for the girl now; he was doing it for himself simply because he was scared of the decision he knew he will have to make soon. To finish his job and forget about the girl, or to help her and break the most important rule of the whole community that would cause his life to be in danger, and never be the same. He knew that he will have to decide quickly as soon as his boss started to call him more often; wanting to know if there was any progress, doubling the amount of pressure that was already on his shoulders.

The telephone rang again and the vampire sighed. He will have to decide till the end of today, but not right now. Right now he needed to go and offer Elena one the best gifts she will get in her whole lifetime.

….

She sat with her back towards the door, her wings flapping quicker and quicker with every line she read, the tension increasing as she turned another page around, the sound of paper in the wind filling the room with life. She thanked Damon every time he brought her a new reading, claiming that fighting the boredom helped her to heal quicker, thought she knew that it was mostly vervain. Since she was drinking it regularly the normal sleep full of dreams returned, most nights causing her to wake up in fear as flashes of pain, blood and shouting haunted her, but felt guilty every time she thought how good it was not to dream at all, knowing that it meant giving up. And she wasn't ready to do this yet, she probably never will be.

She heard his footsteps coming closer, before stopping in front of her door, probably to make sure that she is not asleep. She looked directly in to the peephole, imagining him on the other side and was soon after that welcomed by a familiar sound of the door opening. She closed the book she had been reading, but only after she memorised the page number, and then turned, expecting to come face to face with Damon, but he wasn't there. She scanned the room with confusion, relief washing trough her as she found him leaning against the doorframe, looking at her and she could see that he was tired. She didn't ask why, thought, she never asked, fearing that even though she know she trusted him the question would annoy him and she would be on his bed side again. So instead she tried to find an answer on his face. There was something clearly bothering him for at least a couple of days, but today it was masked with an emotion she couldn't recognise, until he spoke, still gazing at her, his voice strong.

"It is your birthday today."

She couldn't help not to stare at him, not knowing how to respond, emotions that ran through her unrecognizable. Did he really think that she would be happy to hear this news? His face said it all. He did this for her, so that they would become closer; trust each other as much as they could in situation they were in. She had to break the silence before it got awkward seeing his expression change into a sad and disappointed one. She won't allow this. His intentions were good.

"I don't know what to say." Her voice was quiet as she spoke the words with her head down, not daring to look at the vampire who sat next to her. She was so scared, scared that she will say something that would insult or anger him and cause him to become his old self, snapping at her and only caring about his job. But everything was forgotten as she felt his fingers gently turning her head towards him until their eye locked.

"Then tell me how you feel." She could see sadness mixed with confusion and just a drop of curiosity.

She sighed, taking his hands from her face. »It is complicated. I am sorry, I know you imagined that I will react differently to this and I wanted to thank you, but I just can't. It is so unreal, because knowing this here doesn't change anything. It has no meaning. Yes, I am a year older, but it doesn't matter. I won't have a chance to live this year, throw a party, get grades at school, spend time with my friends and family… The whole thing is just pointless. It is nothing special, and it makes me sad, because thinks like that really mattered to me before and now, they just… don't."

….

Damon stared at her for a few moments, processing her words. How could he be so stupid? Of course it wouldn't mean anything to her! She was supposed to spend this day with her family and friends, happy as she would blow the candles of her cake while making a wish, this day would be something special and it shouldn't just be a reminder that she may not even see her family ever again. He had the power to decide that, to choose between their lives, and it will have to be tonight. He squeezed Elena's hand again, before reaching into his bag, thinking about every sentence before it left his mind.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I understand. I just… I don't know," he spoke, ashamed, suddenly not being able to look at the angel beside him. He screwed up and they both knew it.

It was her touch that brought him from his thoughts, her hands hesitant and as she took his palm in hers, covering it, he could feel her tremble. She was still afraid of him, but offered him comfort anyway.

He pulled away from her slowly not to startle her, squeezing her hands in a silent thank you before reaching into his suitcase, handing her a pen and some paper with her folder as a grounding.

"A while ago I was sent to your home, to talk to your brother and your aunt about you and take their blood samples that we needed for the research. They were fine." He added, smiling when he saw her expression. "Sad and not really happy that I was there, but fine. I am going to send them the outcome of the blood analyse tomorrow and since I will be the one sending them it will not be hard for me to sneak two short letters into the envelope." He motioned towards the objects in her lap. "Consider it a gift. But don't mention anything about the system here or me or anything that you learned from the research, OK? I am going to have to read what you will write. Just in case."

He was relieved when he saw her sadness disappearing, her smile getting bigger every second, the light in her eyes shining brighter.

"Maybe we will make this day matter after all, don't you think?"

The girls laughter was his answer and while he brushed her flapping wings carefully, he suddenly realized that he already chose his fate a long time ago, he just didn't knew about it.

* * *

The sound of the doorbell caused him to wake up, startled, and he scanned the room for a moment, before he covered his head with a pillow. He knew that there was no way that he will be able to fall asleep again now, but decided that lying in the bed and thinking about his dreams is far better than facing the real world. Thank god it was Saturday.

The thoughts soon escaped him to the group meeting they had yesterday, on his sister's birthday. It was hard, but at least their plan was, with help they got from the vampire inside CRS, almost finished. Also, Luka and his father explained him about their magic. How most of the witches left America and moved to Europe before the war even started, but for those who decided to stay using spells or teaching magic was forbidden. Anyone who broke this rule was haunted down and killed, because of the very strong spell witches who joined vampires casted. But the magic continued to pass down through generations, new witches only able to make little things to float in the air or light up candles, all of the spell books destroyed or lost on other continents, not like that anyone would be stupid enough to cast one, but still.

The boy slowly rubbed his eyes, sitting on the bed and checking the clock on his mobile phone which lay beside his broken alarm clock. It was half past nine already, only half an hour left for breakfast as one of the old family rules he still followed ordered.

The kitchen was empty as he walked downstairs, the whole floor wrapped in creepy silence.

"Jenna?" He called out quietly, panicking when he didn't hear an answer. What if the vampire from the centre returned and it turned out that strange genes were found in Jenna's blood too? The adrenalin and fear ran through him in symbiosis and his shaking hand grabbed wooden spoon from the kitchen counter, while he was approaching the sitting area. He will not let them take her too.

The scene he walked in on was so different than he expected that it caused him to freeze.

His aunt was sitting on a couch, one hand over her heart, the other holding the paper in front of her eyes; her tear-stained face evidence that whatever she read saddened her, but touched her deeply.

"Jenna?" He tried again, his voice shaking. "What happened?"

She met his gaze for the first time since he came into the room, motioning towards the two envelopes lying on the couch next to her, only one of them opened. "It's Elena…" He felt his heart sink. She cannot be dead, not now, not when they almost finished the plan and was almost a matter of days when they would get her out. Not now. "She wrote me." Jenna's voice cut through his dark thoughts.

"She… what?" He fought an instinct to pinch himself hard, to make sure he is not dreaming as his aunt showed him the letter written with his sisters writing and her signature. This was really happening.

He reached for the envelope with his name on it, barely noticing that it was sent from the CRS, letting the page with his blood test results fall on the ground as he managed to pull out what he was desperate to see for a month. A proof that Elena is alive.

…...

"Dear Jeremy," Ethan's voice spoke the words the boy himself read more than twenty times already. "This page is too short to hold everything I would like to tell you right now, so I will have to stick to the point. I would lie if I would write that I am OK, but I am as OK as I am able to be in this situation. It looks like luck didn't left me completely if I am able to talk to you right now. I won't say that you can't imagine how much I miss you, because I know you do and I won't tell you to stay strong after what happened with mom and dad either. I am so sorry. You shouldn't be forced to go through this without me, but there is nothing you can do. So please never forget: you are not alone, you never were and you never will be regardless what happened and what might happen in the future. I will always be with you. Not just me, I heard that Jenna lives with you now. And I know that she will try to protect you from what is happening with everything she has, but this might be really hard if you do anything stupid. Despite that I am where I am, your safety is still my biggest concern and wish. So please, promise me, Jer, promise me that you will stay out of trouble and be safe, until I see you again, whenever and wherever this will happen. Do this for my sake as well as mom and dad's. I love you, Elena."

As the man's voice died down, Jeremy could feel all seven pairs of eyes observing him intensively, some with pity some with curiosity, until Kylan broke the silence.

"Someone must have helped her; there is no way that she would be able to send this on her own." Jonas nodded, before, turning to the boy again, his voice unsure.

"And you are a hundred percent sure that your sister wrote this."

"The writing is hers and what she wrote sounds like something she would say in a situation like this. She wrote this, believe me I am sure. And besides why would a vampire wrote fake letter and send it to me and my aunt? This wouldn't make any sense."

"Oh it would, you know." Bills raspy voice interrupted him. "Some say that vampires like to play with their food before they eat it."

Linn just rolled his eyes while Ky replied: "As far as we know they are not stupid, too. If someone found out who did this and reported him or her, they would be staked before he or she could even blink."

Bill already opened his mouth to argue back, only to be stopped by Luka. "What if Rose helped her?"

"She couldn't," Alaric shook his head. "Didn't you say that she doesn't work at the department where the girl is kept?"

"That is true, she doesn't. But I can still call her." The oldest man in the room replied, before Lynn jumped in, excited.

"Well, do it than and I will join you. I wanted to talk to her ever since she started helping us."

"She is still a vampire, Lynn." Her husband jumped in looking slightly worried.

"I know, but she is a nice one. And besides there is no way for her to kill me over the phone, don't you think?" The woman laughed, already following Ethan not being able to see Bill growl something under his breath while turning towards Ky, causing him to clench his fist.

…...

Jeremy didn't know for how long they have been waiting until Lynn and Ethan returned. He saw tension filling the room, but it didn't affect him, his heart still full of happiness that Elena wrote to him, causing him to imagine the moment that was still yet to come. He knew it was reckless but he was sure now: they will succeed and she will be safe. No one could convince him otherwise.

"So?" Luka was the first to break the silence when the couple returned, his curiosity obvious.

"She doesn't have any proof, but she thinks she knows who it was." Ethan explained, stopping at Jonas's side. "Apparently there is a confirmed rumour that the head of the girl's research Damon Salvatore has been slowing down the process and lying to his boss for more than a week now."

"Salvatore?" Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "He was the vampire who came asking me and Jenna questions, and took our blood. Are you sure?"

"Positive." Lynn was the one who answered. "But we don't know what he wants to achieve by doing so."

All of them stopped talking, absorbed in their own thoughts until Jonas, who was just listening most of the time brought them on firm ground again.

"That is not true. We know everything we need; he is trying to help the girl as much as he can without saving her, sure we don't understand why, but it doesn't matter as long as he has the same goal as us. I mean, of course he won't try to save Elena on his own, risking his life for her, but maybe if we push him a little and offer him an agreement he will tell us everything we need to know to get her out safely. Sure, Rose helped us map out as much as she could without permission to enter the section the girl's in, but we all know that is not enough. I usually wouldn't be up for this, but this time it is our only option if we all want to return in one piece."

"So… What? You want us to rely on yet another monster?" Ky looked at them like they are all insane. "They are vampires, for God's sake, not our friends. The minute they will feel endangered they will just sell us out and besides there is no way that he is doing what he is doing because he feels sorry for the girl, vampires, remember? They cannot feel."

"I cannot believe that I am going to say this… But he is right on this one." Bill discretely overlooked Kylan's cold stare. "I cannot believe that you would slink that low."

"Well, I think it would be wise to do what Jonas suggested," Alaric stated, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Let's just ask Rose to talk to the guy and quietly offer him a deal, not telling him our names or giving him any kind of contact. If he says yes, we will communicate with him through Rose and if he says no… Well, there is no damage done."

Room became lively, members talking to each other quietly before the first word of agreement reached Jeremy's ears.

* * *

**And this is where the calm before the storm ends. **

**Until next time,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream ;) :) ****Review?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, ;)**

**You probably didn't get an e-mail that chapter twelve was posted either, so go read that first.**

**I was away again and had a great time, but was forced to write a part of this chapter on my mobile phone, which on my antiquated device really isn't practical… Anyway, here it is.**

**Enjoy,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter 13 **

One of the still gently orange shining lights pulsated as he walked underneath it, his still sleepy hair ruffled. Damon was early for work again; the proof given to him by the lightening, telling him that it wasn't even seven yet. He only did this when something big was on his mind, stealing his peace and preventing him from sitting at home and drinking for a little longer, usually it was the demons of his past that did this, the guilt, the pain while he thought about all the things he should have done differently, but it was something else today. Frustration. There was no other word to describe his feelings better. Two days have passed since he made his decision, yet he still didn't come up with a plan that wouldn't be suicidal. The only smart thing he did make up was creating a fake key to Elena's room and then nothing. Not being able to remember anything while the pressure from his superiors grew every passing hour was far worse that the fear he felt rising inside of him. Fear was useful, causing him to be careful and cautious exactly like he needed to be, but the frustration was slowly eating his confidence away, the anger making him to throw at least ten of his anciently old crystal glasses into the fireplace, where they smashed, feeding the flames with strength, while watching the scene did the same with his heart. He will get the girl out. He has to. He has to save the only one that can save him. If he won't succeed, it will not be the stake what would kill him, but the guilt.

He didn't know how much time have passed, before he realised that there was someone walking by his side, almost running, taking two steps for each one of his. He looked at the person, only to find out that it was Rose, something that didn't surprise him. She has been holding to his side like a tick, joining him as he walked the hallways. Only when they were empty, thought, usually teasing him, trying to take his guard down so he would tell her something about the research. Not knowing the reason why she was doing this was still messing with him, but he had grown used to her secrecy lately, not even bothering to ask her anymore in hope that she would back down too, yet she never did.

"Something bugging you in that dumpy head of yours again, Salvatore?" Her voice echoed through the hallway, playful as always, and he could clearly imagine her with devils antlers, watching them grow when he only answered her with silence.

"Aw, did I just hit the soft spot? Sorry. You should probably brush your hair next time; I wouldn't find anything that would disclose you, than."

He tried hard to swallow her words without snapping, closing his eyes just for a second to make up the meanest sentence he could and murmuring it under his breath, quietly enough for her vampire ears not to sense it. He found her scanning the hallway nervously when he opened his eyes again, astonished that she didn't remark anything while he wasn't looking. She ran in front of him, to the first unlocked door she could find and stepped into a small room, her gaze urging him to follow her. What was she doing? Pranking him? It would make sense if it weren't for her serious expression and not knowing what is going on he soon found himself locked in a pantry room with her, the place full of bottles of stinky cleaning fluids, which made him feel like his nose is on fire.

"I have a message for you. An offer, really," Rose spoke, her voice quiet, and he could almost see her ears listening hard to intercept any sign of someone coming. "I know what you are trying to do and I think we are both aware that there is no way you can succeed without help. There is someone else there. Someone who has the same goal as you, and is offering you help. You give his group information and they will get the girl out themselves. You won't have to risk anything. They will do the hard work and will take care of the girl afterwards."

The rage began to boil inside of him as soon as he heard the last sentence leaving Rose's mouth and knew his answer instantly. The girl was meant to stay with him, to be protected by him, not being stuck with people whose intentions are unknown.

"Take care of her, huh? You mean killed slowly and painfully by a vampire freak, or be used by a bounce of human idiots, who think that she has some kind of a power that will win their war." He didn't even bother to control the volume of his rough voice.

"No! Damon, it's not…"

"Not like that? It is exactly like that. My answer is no." He paused to scan her with disgust in his eyes, his hand already on the door handle. "Don't even bother to ask again."

He turned only when he was already standing in a hallway looking back into the dark in her direction. "Oh, and hey, Rose," he waited till their gazes locked, not being bothered by the phone which started to ring in his pocket. "I thought better of you."

He left her standing there and as he headed towards his office he didn't look back.

….

He didn't even make it to the end of the hall, before the sound of telephone ringing unnerved him enough he finally picked up.

"What?" The annotation was clear in his voice and his heart slinked as he heard the man on the other side of the line.

"Damon." Blakemore sounded breathless. "I was trying to get a hold on you for a while, left you a message at your home number, but you obviously already left. Elijah Mikaelson's secretary called me about fifteen minutes ago. He is coming here today Damon, he wants to see your specimen. Meet me in my office, now."

The line went dead and all Damon did before the panic settled into him was to stare at the machine in his hand. They have learned something. Someone must have figured out what he was trying to do or just assumed so because he wasn't making any progress with the research, and now both he and the girl are dead. He couldn't feel the air entering his lungs anymore, the lump in his throat getting bigger any second, and the suitcase falling from his grip. How could his whole plan, everything he was working for, break into pieces in just a few moments?

He was taking deep breaths, trying to get himself back together the whole way to his boss's office.

….

Elena was left with nothing to do again, after a few minutes before a shaken Damon busted into her room, stuffing the books he gave her over the last week into his bag, before quickly explaining her what was going on. But it wasn't until the very moment it happened she completely understood him.

At the other side of the room, right in front of her stood Elijah Mikaelson, the man she was lucky enough to only see on television until now, just staring at her, surrounded by four guards, the ones that usually walked her to every room she was taken too. Damon was there to, standing on Elijah's left, giving away no proof of the panic she saw flowing in him before.

There was complete silence. No one moved, nobody said anything, causing her fear to rise along with the awkwardness. She tried hard to get a sight of Damon's eyes, the ones that would tell her that she was doing OK and this was the way an Original always looked at its underling, but the vampire kept his gaze fixed on the spot on the wall next to her, not helping her to calm down at all.

It felt like hours before they left, but only after she saw Elijah's eyes draw a line, connecting her to Damon, the fear at the gesture stuck with her till the end of the day as did the felling of man's stares burning right through her.

…

The door opened with a loud click, the surprise causing Damon to jump on his feet. He has been waiting in front of his bosses' office for almost a whole hour as Blakemore and the original vampire talked inside about the subject restricted to his ears. The witches casted a spell against eavesdropping on the offices as soon as the centre was build. It never bothered him until now, he realised, thinking about how things have changed for him since the girl arrived, but being careful to keep his mask on, right when he heard Blakemore's voice call him inside.

He meat Elijah at the door, letting him leave the room first. The other vampire showed his goodbye with a short and reserved nod, before leaving him alone on the hallway, increasing Damon's anxiety.

He lost himself in his own worries for a few moments, until the sound of the door shutting brought him back to life and he scanned Blakemore's impression. He looked tired, a shadow of something in his eyes as he motioned for Damon to sit, sighing, before the words started to leave is mouth.

"I have to say that Elijah is a very good observant." He eyed his employee coldly, but he could still sense the disappointment in his voice. Damon opened his mouth, trying to play along, but was stopped before he could even start.

"Don't, Damon. Enough of the pretending, we both know what I am talking about." The lump in Damon's throat was so big that he was struggling to breathe properly. Of course he knew. He made this case personal, wanting to get to know Elena, breaking rules on the way to their friendship, if it even could be considered as one, given the circumstances.

They didn't know about the plan, though, right? He raised his brow, the tension killing him. "So…?"

Blakemore send him a glare, clearly not happy with how Damon responded to his accusations and handed him his working contract over the table. "Due to your over attachment to this specific case, you are, from this moment on deposed from this position. You will be given all of the material you will need for your new research tomorrow morning at seven. Meet me in here. Your potential appeals won't be appreciated." His cold eyes burned into Damon's again. "You have done enough."

….

She let a small smile to linger on her lips when she realised that she had been awaken by a click of the lock, not stressing about the fact that she wasn't pulled into half consciousness at the sound of Damon's footsteps echoing through the hall like she usually was. The vampire was acting differently since her birthday, but she was never able to put a finger on in what way. He was still being nice to her, visiting her at least twice a day. They talked about books mostly, the research long forgotten, his questions light, almost like he sensed that she was still uneasy despite their growing relationship. She would not call it friendship, but she had learned that she can put a certain amount of trust in him. She knew it was probably reckless in situation she was in, but she couldn't help herself; she needed someone and he was always there, not letting her down since the operation.

Relief ran through her as she heard the door opening behind her back; the bad feeling she got when Elijah visited haven't left her yet in combination with boredom completely occupying her with worries, and a relaxed talk was her already tested solution. But the sight she saw as she turned around had a completely different effect. In front of her stood a vampire she had never seen before, dressed in white robe which looked just like the one Damon wore, with short blond hair, grey eyes and her folder in his hand.

She froze, hugging herself with her wings. This can't be happening. Please, let this just be a kind of mistake.

She didn't know where she got the courage to speak from, but she found it somewhere, not even bothering to cover up the fear in her shaky voice.

"Where is Damon?"

The vampire's response was immediate, so professional it sounded almost robotical. "Damon Salvatore was transferred to another research, so I will be the one to take over yours, which is, from what I have read so far, falling behind even though it is getting close to its end."

"Can I see him?"

"Not right now, no, but if you want I will bring him here once before the end of the research."

Elena felt the walls squeezing her and her heartbeat quickened drastically, as she comprehended what he meant with an end. She felt like an idiot for not realising it sooner. She will never see her brother again or feel the sunshine. She shivered as the entire amount of hope she was able to keep until now left her heart, letting her with a cold feeling of fear as it settled inside her soul.

* * *

Jeremy was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, a mobile phone with a message on its still bright screen in his arm. Things were finally looking good for him. Their plan was ready.

* * *

**What do you think? Tell me in reviews. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey :)**

**So another chapter with a lot of drama… Hopefully you will get the alert for this one as I know you probably didn't for the last two chapters (I didn't get one either), so go read chapter twelve and thirteen first if you haven't yet.**

**Also: September is closer and closer every minute and with school which starts then comes a lot of work, which means that the updates most likely won't be as frequent as they are now. (I will try to post at least one chapter a month, hopefully more.) **

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Jeremy lay there for what seemed like forever, trying to burn his feelings in that moment deeply into his memory. He is going to need them; after all, he admitted he feared that they will catch up to him a while ago. Yes, the thought of sneaking into CRS scared him as hell, but it was the only way. He won't allow this emotion to take over him during the execution of their plan and screw something up. And he needed to be confident that they will succeed - if not, he wasn't sure he is going to have enough power to do so.

With some of the weight lifting from his shoulders he felt like he was finally able to breathe properly, every past meeting playing like a movie inside his head. This is happening. Elena will be safe just a few hours after the sun rises tomorrow. They all agreed on this one. They will enter the centre a few minutes before dawn, making it harder for the majority of vampires, the ones without daylight rings, often called the night walkers to follow them. Jonas and Luka will hack their way into security system, taking care of the cameras and locking the guards out of the hall while their substitution will take place so that they won't have to worry about anyone walking on them while they will break into his sisters cell. There will be enough of them to carry her out if she isn't going to be in a state to walk by herself. They will drive away in an old but thanks to Luka working car, the fastest Alaric was able to put his hands on and still pay in cash. They will leave the vehicle at the side of the road, jumping in Kylan's driven by Ethan, who said himself that he doesn't want his age to hinder them in any way. All they needed to find was a safe house for Elena, Jenna and him to stay in. They said they will talk to her after she will recover and figure out what their next move is going to be afterwards, but he didn't even think about what will happen when she is out, all he cared about was whether their rescue operation will succeed and he will get his sister back. And that will happen. He could feel it.

There wasn't much time to appreciate that yet, thought, he needed to tell Jenna about what they are going to do first. He knew her well enough to know that there was no way she is going to get in a car full of unknown people without asking questions. He wished he wouldn't have to do this. He has been avoiding her since their fight after the vampire visited, focusing completely on rescuing Elena. In fact, the last time he stood in the same room as her for more than ten minutes was when the letters arrived. He had no idea how he was going to do this, or how she will react, but somehow he doubted that she will just overlook that he did exactly what she told him not to - put himself in danger.

* * *

He ran down the hallway, ignoring the strange looks and angry words of the people he bumped into, completely focused on the goal in his mind. Finding Rose. His plan was screwed, yes, but not Elena's life. That could still be saved. It had to be.

He opened the door of her office, jumping as they hit the wall, making a loud noise. He needed to calm down, he knew, or he will be dead before sunrise, but that was easier said than done, the worries as well as hatred towards himself not giving him a break. He would just had to be more careful and he would be getting the girl out of here tonight, but of course he didn't do that, and now he didn't even know what was happening to her, who was the new head of her research as well as was not allowed to enter her room ever again, returning the key to Blackmore. Why the hell did he had to be so stupid?

The quiet, surprised cry brought him from his thoughts, the door closing behind him as he came face to face with Rose, crossing the distance between the two of them until he was able to grab her shoulders, shaking her.

"Tell them I will do it. I will help them in any way than I can, just get her out and let me come with them. I will do anything."

"Damon…" The surprise in her voice was evident.

"Just tell them, Rose!" He let go of her, shoving her backwards, the thought of making a deal sickening him, but it was the only way now.

She caught balance, both worry and panic running through her wide eyes in a symbiosis. "What is going on?"

Damon let his eyes meet the floor. "It doesn't matter, just do it."

"Not until you tell me what happened!"

"They transferred me, OK? I can't help her anymore."

She just stared at him for a second, probably trying to comprehend the situation before an unreadable expression took over her face.

"And what about the "I don't know what are they going to do with her when they get her out" part? Risking her life doesn't bother you anymore? There is no way they are going to let a vampire join them."

"I don't have a choice."

"And what if you had it?"

"I don't." He hated feeling powerless, still not meeting her gaze.

"Or are you just too afraid to take it?"

He finally looked at her, a strange sparkle in her eyes, her arm holding a vervain bottle towards him. What was she doing?

"You were right, I should be better than that." She saw his confusion and smiled at him, explaining. "The people that want to get her out- they would use her. They think she has the power to save them, and I am done doing what I am told. The girl deserves better, but you won't be able to hide alone with her forever." He handed him the bottle along with a piece of paper with a telephone number written on it. "You will have to connect with them after a while, try to convince them to get you to Europe. They have their own reasons to try and save her, yes, but that doesn't mean that they are bad people. You have yours too, and you will need them but be careful; tell the girl that she still has her own will, no matter what she is. The guard substitution happens at five."

She almost left, but then their eyes met, her gentle voice filling the room again. "I always knew you had good in you, Damon, so don't you dare screw this up. It is your only chance."

….

He prayed desperately for his heart to slow down its beating as he passed the guards standing by many doors in the section he worked in with every step he took, knowing they can hear it. It was astonishing how simple it was for him to come up with a doable plan now when he really needed it, even if he was mostly relying on surprise and confusion, the most important thing was time. He glanced at the clock, causing a sudden rush of power to wash over him, quelling his fear. Quarter to five. Rose was right; this is going to be all or nothing.

He stopped in front of Elena's room, putting on his usual unemotional mask as the guard scanned him suspiciously.

"Mr. Morrison asked me to come here," he said, staring into the nightwalkers eyes before showing him the key he made a while ago, hoping it will be enough to get through. "And gave me this."

The vampire nodded almost immediately after that, stepping aside and it didn't take long for the familiar click to confirm his small victory, like music to his ears. Maybe this will go down the right way after all.

….

Elena heard him before he even entered, standing up from the cold floor and taking a few deep breaths before turning around to meet his eyes, knowing this will be their last talk and her only goodbye. She has to do this right, without tears, without fear, without breaking. She owed him that much.

"Damon." He stood in front of her now, his expression unreadable, his eyes soft, a relieved sigh leaving his mouth as he took her hand in his.

"Hey," he said his voice full of tension. "Listen, we don't have much time…"

"I know, I just… Thank you for everything you did for me even though you knew it can get you in trouble. I don't…"

"Stop, Elena…"

"Please, I have to do this." She begged, feeling the tears gathering in her eyes. Does he not understand she is doing this for both of them?

"No stop. Look we don't have time for this, OK? I am trying to get out of here."

….

She visibly tensed, her voice somehow higher, causing him to look at her in confusion. "Out?"

"Yes. Now listen. You can't run as fast as me and we have to be able to fool the guards if something goes wrong, so I will have to put you to sleep, OK?," he said, already reaching into his case and pulling out a needle. "This is the only thing I was able to put my hands on. It's the same thing we used during your operation…" He looked up, suddenly becoming aware of the quiet sounds Elena's feet made as she moved away from him, tears running down her face as she stared at him, her expression a mix of fear, anger and disgust, causing the words to stuck in his throat.

"They send you, didn't they? Or did you volunteer to do it?"

"What are you…?"

"Don't you dare lie to me! No one gets out of here. I thought we were friends." Her voice broke at the last sentence, a sob escaping her lips as he finally realised what was going on, taking small steps towards her.

"It is not what you think. I am trying to save you, Elena."

"Save me?!" Her hysteric laugh stopped as soon as one of her wings brushed against the wall. "With killing me? Is this what you try to believe, to convince yourself it is the right thing to do?"

"I am not going to…"

"How can you lie to me about something like that? No, don't. Don't come closer!" He saw the panic taking over her when he reached her, trying to get a good grip of her as she trashed around, her flapping wings making his task even harder.

Something broke inside of him at the sight of her trapped in his arms; one wrapped around her back, right above the start of her wings, holding her left hand still, the other one pulling the protection from the needle, her wings pounding firmly on his side. At some point she gave up and begged him not to do it, her eyes full of fear as he whispered "I am sorry," holding her in his embrace, soothing her by stroking her hair and planting kisses on her forehead until she fell into a deep slumber, knowing that the real danger hadn't even started yet.

* * *

The fact that the gentle humming of the engine was the only sound in a packed car was the proof of their nervousness. Nobody talked, moved or looked at the others, leaving Alaric to stare through the window, inspecting the surroundings as he lost himself in his thoughts.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Jeremy's face out of his head. He looked so angry, disappointment in his eyes for which Ric knew that was directed mainly towards him as they locked the boy, Luka, Jenna and Lynn's dog in Ethan's living room. Yes, he felt bad about betraying him, but it was necessary. It was better he was angry and alive than dead after all.

They weren't even half way to their bought car that was parked on the forest path a few miles ahead when Ethan's phone started to ring. His friend didn't even bother to decelerate the speed while pulling the device out of his pocket and turning on the speakers, so the caller's voice echoed through the vehicle.

"Rose."

* * *

**Review?**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi everyone :)**

**I would like to thank you for all your feedback, which has been growing bigger by any chapter lately. It is really amazing to come home from a hard day at school and find out that there is someone new who likes the story or that the ones who were with it from the beginning still enjoy it as much as you did before, no matter which button you click to show it. You are simply the best. ;) **

**Now I know that this chapter is a bit shorter than the last ones, a filler really, but it's needed for the characters, to be able to grow normally after everything that had happened. **

**Enjoy,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

The darkness was haunting her as well as the dreams she couldn't remember. She screamed for her body to wake up, but it didn't listen, leaving her trapped inside her head. Something was wrong, she could feel it, it was coming after her fast, too fast. She tried to scream, realising it was too late when the liquid filled her lungs as she was gasping for air she didn't need.

"Are you afraid?" The voice came; from where, she had no idea, the blood banging in her ears, her sense for orientation lost. She was lost. Was she? Afraid? She wouldn't know, not being able to feel anything anymore. Maybe it was for the best. She tried fighting, she did, but she just couldn't win. She wasn't in control of herself anymore. She didn't even know if she existed and if her speculations were right there was no answer needed. It knew her better than she knew herself - the darkness.

Maybe that wasn't real too – the thought itself was soothing. No she wasn't afraid, there was nothing to be afraid of anyway anymore, except for losing the only thing that was worth holding on to, good enough for her to start the fight she knew was pointless. She searched for the word for a while, embracing the feeling, the darkness turning into lighter, but still dark surroundings as she found it after all. The reason she was here was hidden inside of her all this time. Hope – her heart was made of it.

* * *

It was comic, really, how staying in bed wasn't his priority anymore as soon as he heard a loud smack of the front door shutting. Someone was here, which meant something has happened, which meant Elena…

Jeremy was running downstairs in a heartbeat, not even stopping to put on his slipper, the wooden floor cold, letting him know that it was still too early for the drama to begin, especially after yesterday evening. He squeezed the wooden fence tighter at the thought, the pain rushing through his knuckles as a few drops of blood found their way down his arm, the wounds opening again.

He didn't remember feeling any pain yesterday, only blood streaming down the wooden door of the locked living room as he hit them over and over, until the last bit of energy left him and he fell asleep, hoping that the group was honourable enough that it wouldn't break its word completely and that he would see his sister as soon as he will open his eyes, yet that never occurred. He remembered what happened next only barely: screaming, Alaric trying to calm him down enough he would understand what happened being sure they all lied and already sold Elena to some rich vampire pig, that wanted to be the one to kill her, or did the job themselves, dumping her body at the side of the road. More screaming followed. He remembered Jenna's cries as Luka and Kylan held him back, but he was still struggling, wanting to fight. He remembered a loud smack as Bill's hand collided with his cheek, shocking him enough to actually listen.

Running to the first room he found upstairs, not wanting them to see his tears as he felt he will reach his breaking point… And then nothing for a while, until he heard the door open and looked up to see his aunt slipping into the room, her hands stroking his hair, just like his mother did, until he fell asleep.

She was sitting on a couch now, a remote control in her hand as she was skipping trough the channels.

"Any news?" he asked as she noticed him, her gaze worried.

"Oh, you mean besides both of us probably being wanted by now?" she waited for a smile to appear on his face before continuing. "Nope, nothing… You okay thought?"

"No, but I am better. Thank you… For everything."

"Don't mention it." The awkwardness was growing, causing the room to fell into silence for a while, until his aunt broke it with a short nod towards kitchen. "There are some pancakes in the oven for breakfast if you want. I promise they are eatable."

"Well, I will see about that," he smirked, his expression becoming serious again as he leaned against the doorframe. "Has anyone come here, by the way? I could swear I just heard the front door…"

"Sure, Alaric came by an hour ago and you just missed Ethan. It looks like Lyn was able to do some digging again: The vampire who kidnaped Elena… His name is Damon Salvatore."

* * *

"The property belongs to an old friend of mine…" Damon's tender voice rang in her ears as he continued, probably hoping that knowing what is going on would sooth her, yet she kept looking through the window, silently observing the reverberation of the sunbeams on the still lake surface.

"…It takes more than an hour to get to the nearest town, so it should be for you to go outside. We need to get some vitamin D in you, it has been a while." She didn't miss how his tone changed as he forced a small smile on his lips, even if it faded fast as he realised that she won't respond.

"Elena…" He sounded really worried now, begging her to look at him, taking her hand in his in a beseeching motion. "Hey, talk to me."

She let her eyes to give in to the urge and meet his concerned ones, sounding distant even to herself.

"Is there any food here? I am hungry."

….

He blinked in surprise a few times, not being able to figure out what to say for a long moment. She has been through more than any person should be: her parents died right before she was brought to the centre, living in fear longer than a month and when he got her out she was asking him about _breakfast_? What the hell was wrong with her? Her eyes looked empty.

"Sure. The kitchen is downstairs and to the left and as far as I know, the fridge should be stuffed."

….

She stared at the white dress she found in the dresser blankly, the water drops falling from her loose still dump hair causing her to shiver. She brushed it slowly, taking her time, not feeling the sadness she usually did at the motion nowadays. She pulled the clothing over her head almost robotically, the open back allowing her to get it over her wings, so that it fell normally. The warm air blowing out of the hair dryer, noting that she will have to face the problem that will appear when she will want to wear a t-shirt sooner or later, but not tonight.

It wasn't until she walked downstairs, opening the cupboard and filling a bowl with her brother's favourite cereal that she felt her throat closing.

…...

He rushed to the girl, hearing her broken sobs all the way to the study, but stopped at the doorframe suddenly, the scene shocking him completely.

Elena has fallen on her knees, her eyes half-closed, her hand on her chest as she was struggling to breathe. Her head was turning quickly, uncontrollably, like she had no sense for orientation and with her wings flapping furiously she looked so scared, her crying almost hysterical.

"Elena." He got himself together quickly, crossing the distance between them, trying to somehow get her attention as he sat down next to her; but it was like she couldn't hear him so he took her hand in his. Her wing collided with his side before he could react, thought, as she struggled, banging in all directions in panic.

"Elena!" he ignored the blows, grabbing her shoulders firmly, shaking her. "Hey, it's me. You need to calm down. Elena!"

"Da…Damon?" The struggling stopped as her eyes finally snapped open, taking in his figure next to her for a second before launching herself in his arms.

He caught her easily, pulling her to his chest, after quickly kissing her forehead. She was too tense.

"Shhh, you are going to be alright. Listen, I know that you think that you can't breathe, but that's all just a feeling, OK? I need you to try and take a deep breath for me." He tucked an escaped lock of her hair behind her ear, his words almost drowned in her wheezing, tears running down her face as she tried hard to form a sentence.

"I… can…can't"

He could sense the fear in her voice, holding her closer. "Yes, you can. You need to try again. I know it is hard, but you have to. We will do it together, Ok?"

She met his gaze, for the first time letting him see what she felt, without hiding; despite her vulnerability scanning his eyes with intensively that made his world stop for a moment. She was so beautiful. He wished she would trust him enough to let him see her like this every day, mourning after the moment as it passed when she closed her eyes. Maybe one day, if he will do his job right. He cannot protect someone who is afraid of him.

He placed his lips to her forehead in a whisper of a kiss, until her breathing got back to normal and she fell asleep in his arms, still holding on to his shirt tightly, leaving him amazed by the feeling. There was no way he could have ever imagined to be blessed enough to hold an angel in his arms.

**Review?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Aside from the creaking of the flags and a few bird songs the sunny Mystic Falls high school courtyard was quiet, affirming Alaric's suspicions as soon as he closed the car door loudly, scanning the stuffed parking lot. He was sure now, they have come.

He took his time on his way to the door, allowing the-for the time being-still cold morning summer breeze to enter his lungs calmingly, trying to burn the feeling into his still free mind. Calmness. He will have to show it today even if he knew it is going to be false, as well as a bit of worry. It would seem odd if it wouldn't be noticeable, suspicious, and he couldn't afford that. There were too many lives at stake.

He bend his toes inside of his freshly refined shoes, feeling the old raspy vervain stem glued to his sole with nothing but silver sellotape against his skin to make sure it was still there. It was his only lifeline. One of the few their great grandparents have left for them, probably worth more than all of his possessions at the moment. The liquid stuff was far chipper. He could only hope that is what they are going to be looking for.

His hand shook as he grabbed a door handle, taking a deep breath before entering. This is it.

He was met with six of them immediately: three of the vampires at the door, the other three at the nearby table taking blood samples. He was ordered there instantly, gritting his teeth as the needle broke his skin, before a small paper was pressed over the wound. The vervain tester, negative as expected.

"Wait in front of the room fifteen, please." The woman's voice was lifeless, giving him yet another proof that she was dead, causing him to shiver. This was wrong. The whole species shouldn't have existed.

His steeps echoed through the hallways. There were lines in front of several classrooms he passed, yet none of the usually loud students spoke. It was like the fear froze them. One of the creatures glued himself to his back, probably making sure he wouldn't do anything stupid and try to leave. Like anyone would. There was no doubt that everyone was here today. It was still better to come and be questioned in school than in your family's home, risking lives of the people you love the most. No one would be this stupid.

There was a lonely figure that caused him to stop, thought. Matt Donavan stood still in the middle of the hall, his hands shaking visibly, his face too pale as his body dangerously leaned forward. He ran towards him, catching him before he hit the ground, tapping his cheeks and holding his legs in the air until he was pulled into consciousness again. Elena's boyfriend. How could he forget? They probably made him tell everything. He frowned at the idea. The kids were too young for this. The vampire was becoming impatient, but he refused to leave the boy alone, waving for the first person he saw to come closer. Caroline Forbes, Bill's daughter. She looked older now, more herself, agreeing to take the boy home without complaining. She whispered a quiet "Thank you," that he returned with a nod and then he was on his way again, the vampire urging him to move. He was getting closer and closer to his goal, not being able to stop himself from worrying as he entered the classroom, immediately being checked for weapons and tensing as they asked him to take his shoes off.

* * *

The smell than awoke her grew stronger with every step she took towards the kitchen, causing her empty stomach to rumble. She didn't know how the breakdown helped her, but it did. She felt lighter now, her mind clearer, more productive.

Damon's back was turned towards her when she entered the room, cutting the lasagne in a tray before him carefully, growling slightly as nothing went as he wanted, causing a small smile to appear on her lips, but fade fast. Sure, he was nice earlier, but his silence was still bothering her. He still hasn't told her what he was planning to do with her and she would lie if she would say that didn't scare her.

"Hey." He was looking at her now, scanning her face carefully. "You hungry? I know it's nothing compared to what you normally eat, but I tried to make it good."

She nodded, sitting at the already prepared table, but not being able to stop herself from wondering when the last time he cooked was. One, two, three hundred years ago? She wouldn't know, nor asked.

He sat at the chair across the table, causing the awkwardness after what happened this morning to grow as well as the heat on her cheeks while he played with his plate. Of course she was happy that he was there for her; he just wasn't supposed to see her like that. She wanted to believe she was stronger.

"It's good." She broke the silence after it grew unbearable.

"Well, that's certainly good to know." He smiled at her, yet all she did was bow her head and his face turned serious again. "We need to talk."

…

He has spent the whole night thinking about how to do this, needing her trust, just like she needed her freedom.

"We need to talk about what we are going to do next. I know you probably just want your family back but it's not that easy, especially when we don't know where they are."

Her eyes filled with sudden panic as she scanned his face. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, putting the fork down to grab her hands over the table. "They were on TV, Elena, they must have been warned that the police was coming, because the house was empty when vampires came."

The angel's palms were shaking in his now. "Why… Why would they do that?"

"I don't know."

….

What did they do? Elena's thoughts were spinning in circles again. There was no way Jenna would risk their lives without a reason. What did they do?

"A friend who helped me to get you out gave me this." Damon noticed her worries, handing her a small piece of paper with a phone number written on it in a scrappy handwriting, which she was now playing with, nervously turning it over and over.

"It seems like there was someone else that wanted to get you out. Humans. You know they wouldn't run for nothing. They had to know something."

"You mean… You think they joined them? Why not just let them get me out then? I would have been with them by now." She heard the anger in her voice clearly, but couldn't help herself. Was he preventing her from meting her family again on purpose? Was this some kind of a sick plan of his, having her only to himself? She couldn't deny it any longer. She was afraid.

His face fell at her statement, his voice careful. "I didn't even assume they could be with them. I don't know what they want with you and even if I would back then… They would be too late. This was my only option. Even if they would be able to get to you on time, I wouldn't allow them to take you. They would use you, Elena."

"And that isn't what you are going to do, huh?" Her body was shaking now, from fear of from anger, she didn't know, her eyes filling with tears. "You can tell me, you know. What they told you to do with me, how much will you get out of it? I won't try anything, I promise. I just… I c-can't take this nice act anymore."

….

Damon raised his hands in the air as he took slow small steps towards her, every word that left his mouth carefully thought through, in a hope that it won't scare her more.

"No, no, no, no, no. You got it all wrong, Elena. As soon as you got in the rumours started to spread among humans. They think you were sent here to end their war, they would force you to do things you don't want to do without even asking you for opinion. You are a weapon in their eyes, nothing more. I needed to protect you from that. I want you to have your voice at all times."

Tears were running down her face freely, her breath quickening as he stood by her side, stroking her hair, her face turned away from him, hidden.

"Elena… Look at me." He waited until she did so, her fear turning into confusion at his broken expression. "I would never hurt you. I won't. I know I have nothing to prove this right now, but I… I will do anything you want me to do so that you will be able to believe me someday. I will be there for you, I will give you space if you want me to... I will help you find your family. I will help you get your freedom back… Just give me this one time. Let me hold you this time and then I will never want anything from you again. Just this once… I need to fix this."

He wrapped his arms slowly around her, tenderly, whispering words of comfort in her ear over and over, until her hold on the chair softened enough for him to remove her fingers, feeling her tremble as he pressed her against his chest, running a thumb down her check, wiping her tears away.

"Shhh, it's OK. You are safe with me, I promise."

She gripped his shirt in her fist, searching for his attention while she rested her head right over his heart silently pleading him to bow his own closer to her lips, probably forgetting that he would be able to catch her words even if he would be standing on the other side of the room.

"I am scared."

"I know," he planted a kiss on the top of her hair, preparing to let go of the feeling of having her in his arms, yet she gripped his shirt tighter as he started to unwrap his hands that were holding her to him, filling him with hope.

And when she spoke again her voice was muted by his shirt. "What I said earlier… I am sorry."

"Don't be." He smiled slightly at her words, brushing his hand through her hair. He knew he deserved it better that she will ever know. There has been another reason behind his actions, she must have had sensed it too, she was just too polite to say anything or too scared. His true angel. The one that will save him.

….

His heartbeat was what calmed her, the too slow beats steady, reassuring. She could have this. She needed this. She needed someone to hold on to. Someone she will feel safe with. She could do it, she knew she could.

It was hard for her to remember that he was a vampire, that this now strong heart failed him once, wondering how it happened. All her life people were telling her that these creatures are soulless monsters, driven mostly by their instinct to kill, yet his arms were so soft around her, his eyes so caring. They weren't all like this. It wasn't the truth. She felt a pain similar to this morning's press on her chest again. Her parents died for nothing.

….

They stayed like this for what seemed like ages, before he broke the silence again.

"Hey, Elena?"

"Mhm?"She was so relaxed now that she sounded almost sleepy, causing him to smile.

"We still need to talk about what we are going to do next…"

"I know."

"…And I want you to choose, but you need to know many things before you will be able to do so. We can't be sure if your brother and aunt are with the group, until we meet them, there are many ways how they could fool us through the telephone since they want you to come to them desperately. The vervain we have is only going to last for a week, even if we keep it to the minimum for you to drink. We can stay here for as long as we want and if you don't want to meet these guys, we can still find your family ourselves."

"Maybe, but if they hid so well that even police couldn't find them… They are not stupid, you know? Jenna would never let something happen to them. If they really did something and are not with those men they probably found their way to Europe already."

"Is that where you want to go?"

"Well, it would be the safest place to hide, but I don't know yet. I need to figure out why all this happened to me, and I don't want to go anywhere without knowing that Jeremy is safe."

He just nodded, thinking her words trough.

"So… We can call them and find out if your family is with them and what this people want with you, or run around without a goal in mind."

"They won't be able to find out where we are through the telephone if you call them, will they?"

"No."

"Then I guess we have nothing to lose."

He nodded, watching a smile appear on her lips, causing his world to brighten. He did it, he really did it. She was trusting him.

"No, we don't."

* * *

Jeremy's palms were still burning from all the dishwashing he did with Jenna when the sound of the cars rolling onto the houses front yard caused him to look through the window.

Jonas and Ethan were smiling, yelling something indistinctly while showing Alaric around so that he staggered towards the front door, laughing. Kylan and Lynn stood only a few meters away leaning against each other, happily taking in the view while the white dog ran circles around them.

Watching them the boy couldn't help but cringe. No more than an hour ago they heard about his uncle being questioned. He never really liked the guy, that much is true; but he never, ever wanted this to happen to him. Not ever. He could die. And there was still no word about Elena, yet they were joking around, having fun?!

"You made it! You made it!"

The front door opened loudly, causing Ethan's and Jonas's voice to echo through the hallway, not stopping until they reached the kitchen where he was standing, Ric's smile fading faster than ever and he was able to see the remorse in the teachers eyes as they landed on him, asking the others to give them a second so they could talk. This was certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

She ran outside, the soft grass under her bare feet causing her to giggle as she twirled, the new book Damon gave her stored safely in her palm. The last time she felt this happy was months ago. This was what she has been dreaming of, what she needed. This was freedom.

She admitted her head a win as the vertigo forced her to stop, the unknown yet beautiful surroundings spinning in front of her eyes, until she sat down and closed them for a few seconds. It seemed like a fairy tale, the way planted flowers were spread in front of her all the way to the forest border, blurring it. A work of a fine gardener, she was sure.

The soft breeze grew stronger now, causing a small shiver that she didn't even notice to ran down her back, her attention elsewhere. The lake. The waves on the surface, the rebound of the sun… The small wooden pier stood proudly, hidden by a bunch of spruce threes almost completely, the sight painting a smile on her face, her feet following the path filled with bark immediately. Her reading place, she has found it.

She stood on the edge in no time, breathing in the amazingly fresh air brushing her wings until she wasn't able to withstand the temptation anymore, sitting down and dipping her toes into the water.

The pain shoot through her chest, immediately preventing her from breathing as the liquid pulled her into its depths, and all she could do was stare at the figures on the front sits, not trying to escape the belts that held them down, not moving, their open eyes empty.

Her own yelp was what brought her back to reality, as she stumbled backwards, curling into a ball. Every thought she had was holding the same meaning. It was her fault, the accident. She caused it; she should be the one to take the price. She knew she died, she remembered the fear before it happened, the darkness. Why couldn't they just let her go?

"Are you OK?" An unknown voice asked from behind her, the male trapping her between him and the piers end, the one thing she feared more than going back into the CRS her only possible escape. The water. She has stood up without knowing, her heartbeat quickening, until she felt the strong flapping on her wings at her back. She couldn't go back. They couldn't get them. Not now.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" The tall blond haired male, took a step back immediately, freeing her. "I am Gabe, I live here, I am letting you and Damon stay here," his words surprised her enough to calm her panic and she blinked for a few times before scanning him.

The man looked in his late twenties, the edge of the grey hoodie he wore hanging way over his dark jeans, the green eyes staring back at her warmly as he offered her his hand. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She grabbed it, shaking it rather hesitantly, yet it was better than nothing. She needed to learn how to live normally again. How to overcome her fears, how to trust. "I am Elena."

"Oh I know, believe me. It is nice to meet you thought; I was beginning to worry that you would be stuck in a room with Damon taking care of you till the end of time." He said, his words causing her to laugh.

"It is not like that, don't worry. His closet is much more comfortable than you would think."

He smiled at her, scanning her expression carefully, probably still searching for fear, before motioning towards the patch of wood beside her. "May I?" She nodded, but made sure that she was as far away from the water as possible before following his moves and sitting down, his voice stopping her thoughts again, his words surprising her. "And don't worry, I won't fangirl over those wings of yours. Damon made it very clear that is not allowed."

"He compelled you?" She didn't even care to hide the indignation in her voice, making sure to observe his response carefully. Was she actually just talking to Damon controlling another body?

"No, at least not on that matter."

Damon would never give her a response like that, not after he saw her disgust. "I thought you were friends."

He laughed, surprising her again. "Well, the last time he saw me I was seven. If he considers that a friendship this is his problem."

She decided not to push it for now. It wasn't about her anyway. They sat in silence for a few moments, every thought broken by the wave hitting the shore causing the pain to appear again, not letting her forget for even a second where she was supposed to be.

* * *

**Review?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello, my lovely patient readers :)**

**Here you go, an update. Finally, right? I am really sorry for the long wait, but there were so many things I needed to take care of. Firstly school with an almost unbelievable amount of tests before the holidays that I really needed to take care of regarding that I knew that after the break I will be absent for quite some time due to my health problems. **

**I actually wrote the chapter before the end of the last year but was not able to proof read it and correct a few not things not related to grammar witch I didn't really like, but hadn't really have enough inspiration to rewrite because of knowing what is going to happen a few days later. Since I have come back home, thought I was able to get most of this things done over the phone while I was strictly recuperating in bed and waited until I was able to sit behind a computer long enough to post this chapter up for you. **

**How about I stop explaining myself so we focus back to the story? Sounds good, right? So this chapter is mainly focused on growing relationships between the characters who don't have much control over what is going to happen at the moment, their felling, fears, the way they express these feelings and how they cope with them. **

**I hope you spend the holydays relaxing, spend lots of time with your loved ones, and wish you a happy new year. Enjoy reading the chapter, this one is for you. :)**

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter ****17**

Jeremy squeezed his fingers in a fist hidden in the pocket of his black hoodie letting the pain shoot through him again as blood poured into the freshly changed bandage, bringing him down to earth as he focused all of his anger in the look he sent to his ex-teacher, watching him gulp, before turning to his friends, their eyes full of understanding as they left the room. They all knew that he and Alaric needed to do this.

"Look, Jeremy," Alaric broke the silence, cautiously but firmly, already walking towards the small kitchen counter and the two brown bar chairs standing beside it. "I know you are angry with me, and you have every right to feel this way but… Let's just sit down, shall we? You looking like you are going to jump me any second now won't solve anything and we have a lot to talk about."

"There is nothing to solve." The boy's voice sounded even harsher than he intended it to, not even considering following the man's suggestion. Does he really think that as soon as he comes up with some sort of apology everything will go back to normal?

"Maybe. That is completely for you to decide, but I still owe you answers which I won't give to you until you come here and sit down, so that we can talk like normal human beings."

The boy offered him another death stare, scanning Alaric's still perfectly calm expression that now screamed a little victory. He had him hooked and he knew it. "Fine!" he stormed to the chair; pulling it from the counter and putting it back on the ground roughly, before throwing himself on it.

"Happy now?" The teacher nodded almost sadly. "Then shoot. Were you planning on not letting me come with you from the beginning?"

"We knew we will have to do this since we agreed to let you help. And you did. A lot. We would never be able to find out about the talk you had with a vampire and the fact that he is wearing a ring for sun protection without you. But you are fourteen, Jeremy. Did you really think we would let you come with us?"

"You used me, then." The boy could feel his body shaking. "You lied to me."

The teacher sighed. "When we first talked about all this I told you I will help you get your sister back and I intend to keep that promise. You trying to be a hero and dying in the process of saving her would not help you to achieve that goal."

"But she would be free." He met Alaric's gaze just for a second before turning away, his anger turning into sadness and worry quicker than he thought was possible. "She would be here, alive and well and not being tortured or already dead lying somewhere in the gutter."

A strong arm fell to rest on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly, making it hard for him to prevent tears from falling as his co-speaker urged him to look at him again. "This is not what is happening, OK? Do you really thing a vampire would risk his life to get her out of the Centre just that he would be able to do what he was able to do all along? Not even a sick person would be that stupid. He got her out with a good reason. I don't think he is going to hurt her."

"What are you talking about?"

"A trade. If Rose really gave him our number like Jonas is convinced, he will want to trade, letting us have the girl in exchange for something, probably a safe passage to Europe or something like that. And think about it - would she really want you to risk your life to save her? Or to die trying? You coming with us wouldn't change anything, only made things harder. Rose would still have called, your sister would still already be out. Nothing would be different from how it is now. And we need to focus on now. We need to focus on our next step. Not on the past, never on the past."

"Can you just answer me one last question then?" The boy asked. His expression softened despite the worries still lingering in his mind, the only sign he has going to give the man to show him that he has forgiven him.

Alaric looked at him with interest. "Sure."

"What if he doesn't have the number?"

….

The couch squeaked under Alaric's weight, a smile that the dinner party Lynn insisted on having brought on his face still not disappearing as he watched the eyes of the people that were nothing less than a family to him glittering with happiness for once, their laugh echoing through the dining room. It has been too long since they allowed themselves to be so careless; Ethan stealing inattentive Ky his girl, dancing with her to the old song playing on the radio, her hair spinning in the air at their every turn immediately followed by her giggles, as the girls husband was catching his breath, his stomach hurting from the last awkward high school story Luka told him, while his dad and Bill played cards. The grumpy man was always eager to leave when things get too happy, yet only the oldest trio understood the pain he carried, the void that arose after Nate's death ever present.

Memories took over, paying like a movie inside his head as he reached for yet another beer can, letting the popping sound when it opened and the drinks aftertaste bring him to the present again, but was quickly interrupted by the two hushed voices, his gaze flying to the door, his ears starting to pick up the conversation.

"…, don't be such a loner." Jenna sounded almost desperate, yet the boy just mumbled something under his breath before tearing his arm out of her grip and heading towards his bedroom, not even bothering to catch the door that shut with a loud click of the handle, leaving his aunts face to fall in an emotion that was unreadable to Alaric until their eyes locked, guilt and despair mixed with tiredness wrapping hers in darkness.

They stared at each other for a while, both knowing they got caught at their weakest until she recovered enough to make the first move and sit down next to him with a sigh, starting the conversation instantly.

" Rough day, huh? I don't think I have ever seen someone looking so down on their survival celebration party, especially the one they agreed on having."

"It is not that…. It just brings up a lot of memories…"

"Well, if you want to talk about it with the winner of this year's World's Worst Guardian Award, I am all yours," she growled, hiding her face in her hands, her words barely understandable.

"Oh, come on, you are not that bad," he laughed.

"I have one of my wards missing and no one has a clue what is happening to her, while the other one won't even look me in the eye anymore, let alone talk to me. I am pretty sure this is as low as it can get."

"Well at least they know they have someone they can count on. Even the boy. I think he is more scared than anything. He has forgiven you a long time ago, you know? He is just afraid to show it. He knows he has acted wrong, but the confrontation could lead you to leave him completely, so he is running from it. Losing the only family member he knows will be here is the last think he wants." He took himself a moment for clearing his throat and another beer sip before continuing. "As for Elena… You weren't even with them when it happened. You could do nothing to prevent it, but when she gets here she will need someone to count on. Someone she trusts, and she knows that won't hurt her. Only then you will understand the task you were given. It won't be easy, but you are the only one who can do it."

….

Jenna's eyes flew to him before she could stop them, wondering just how he is able to express his thoughts in such way. Was it his profession that thought him to understand everyone so good? Or was this just part of who he was? She couldn't tell.

She awoke from her daydream just as he began to turn back to her, fixing her gaze at her feet as he handed her a clean glass now already filled with a bitter yellowish liquid.

"Maybe you are right. About Jeremy, I mean… And I want to fix things, I do, he just… He doesn't let me. Tonight, before the dinner… How did you do it?"

"Just talked to him, explained him some things… He is still a boy, Jenna. He needs you. Just get him somewhere where he can't get away from you and talk to him. He _will_ listen to you."

She wanted to object, but a piercing noise coming from the dining room caused her to stop mid-sentence. Ethan's phone was ringing.

* * *

**You can always tell me what you think by clicking the review button :)**

**P.S: Prepared for a meeting with Damon?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello everyone :)**

**A new chapter and a long one too, posted less than a month after the last one… That hasn't happen in a long time, right? **

**I am feeling a lot better and with heading to school tomorrow I worked really hard to get this posted before then, knowing that if I wouldn't, this story would probably be updated really, really late because of many exams I will have to take and school work I will be trying to catch up with before them… So here you go, with all of the amazing support you are showing by writing reviews or favoriting and following this story I present to you the meeting with Damon! **

**I am really excited for this one and would love to hear your thoughts, so don't be shy and tell them to me in the reviews :)**

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**P.S: There are many time, place and POV jumps in this chapter and I used different types of lines to make sure you don't get confused.**

**This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.**

**A full line _ means that we jumped to the POV of a person who is elsewhere than the person we were reading trough before, but what he or she is doing is happening at the same time, parallel with what is happening to the person we were accompanying before. Or are reading the same persons POV than before but he is in another place and there was a time jump from what we were reading before and what we are reading now.**

**The parts of the story that are written **_like this_** are flashbacks.**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

The moon was bright and the night clear, causing the sandy road that lied beneath the wheel of the car they were driving in to look like it was glowing, the strong car lights revealing the shapes of the threes and undergrowth more than fifteen metres ahead of them.

It was one of the crucial parts of the plan – the creepy, bumpy forest road. The only place where there wasn't even a slightest chance of running into one of the many vampire check points that they would stumble on at the section that led to the highway. It was safer for them, yes, but the effect she saw the lengthy path had on them in the reflection of the rear-view window was more than visible.

Luka's eyes were fixed on the road, his face completely blank, the only thing giving him away his grip on the steering wheel that was causing his knuckles to whiten. While Ethan and Alaric, who was currently staring trough the darkened window only occasionally, exchanged a few glances, Kyle's face was full of worries, causing her mind to jump to the conversation they had at the house the other evening.

"_We will take the macadam through the forest there." Ethan's voice filled the living room once again once all of the questions about the vampires call died down, causing Jeremy on her right to visibly tense. _

"_I want to come."_

"_He said me and Jenna, Jeremy, remember only the two of us, no weapons. These were his demands. We can't risk it. Not when your sisters life is on the line."_

"_No one's life is at risk." Jonas's interrupted him calmly. "He said he was calling as the girl's representative. Not her kidnapper. He trusts us, now we have to trust him."_

_Someone across the room puffed. Bill. "It's easy for you to say with all of the witchcraft mumbo jumbo that you believe in, especially when you won't even be there and they are the ones that are going to get killed. This is a vampire we are dealing with!"_

"_He is right, Ethan." Ky jumped right in, his voice worried audibly. "Just take something with you. A stake in your jacket, vervain, anything. Or let us come with you."_

"_You know we can't do that."_

"_Why not?" Lynn challenged him this time. "He never said about preventing anyone to drive you there, did he? Just take three of us with you with a few bottles of vervain. It's not even a weapon, really, more self-defence thing. You know, for protection."_

"_Yeah. And then what? When they leave to meet him, what will these guards do if they will need help? Call 911?" Bill locked his eyes with Ethan again. "If you take vervain, you need to have it near you, along with at least two man and a freaking arsenal."_

"_Look, we don't know this guy," Luka tried to reason them. "We don't know where his boundaries are and we certainly don't want to cross them. If Jenna and Ethan have stakes or more people with them, he will know."_

"_How about a crossbow in a car and a vervain spray in your pocket just in case," Alaric joined all of their ideas. "The guards would wait in the car. If anything happens they would hear and came to the meeting place to help you."_

_Ethan nodded. "That will do. Now: Ky, Alaric you will come along. And for the others… Lynn, could you prepare the vervain sparys? Make sure the concentration is right, OK? Jonas help her, will you? Luka…"He threw him his car keys. "You will drive. And Jeremy… I am sure you are better at planning the path than I am."_

"Hey." A hand that one of her fellow passengers placed on her shoulder brought her back to life. Ethan. "Are you OK?"

"I am fine." To her surprise her voice was steady. Yes, she was afraid before but they had to do this. Her palms slipped into her jacket pocket, searching it for a moment before she was able to feel the small, cold glass flask, gripping it tightly in a fist.

"_Now here comes the fun part," Alaric's voice cut through the morning silence of the living room. "You grip the grenade tightly, with your right hand, you pull the ring out…" He moved the device as he spoke, stopping after each step, making sure she was able to comprehend everything, "… and throw it instantly. This is very important, OK? The explosive the flask contains isn't strong enough to kill you, but if you stay in less than two meter radius from it when it activates, it could seriously injure you."_

_Her heartbeat increased with every word that left his mouth. She will never be able to do this. They have been doing this for more than an hour, introducing her to every single one of the weapons that they will take with them to the meeting. Everything from vervain spray and grenade in one that she will carry in her pocket, to stakes, guns with wooden bullets and crossbows that will be hidden in a car. Yes, maybe they would stand a chance if something went wrong, the group has been training for years, learning how to use these weapons, inventing them even. But her? She didn't have a clue about this stuff. It the vampire decided to attack them, she will be dead in les that a second. "I understand." _

"_Now tell me," Ethan turned to face her again. "What is the advantage vervain grenades have against a vampire?"_

"_Surprise. You have to be quick and throw it at him when he is not expecting it to happen."_

"_You are right. As for tonight, when will we use these?"_

"_We won't. Not if he doesn't attack first."_

"_And your job tonight?"_

"_Is to validate that my niece is OK," she began, her mind placing the words she was about to speak on her tongue almost robotically, due to the number of times they have already done this. "And to obtain myself from mentioning any names or tactical information." _

"_Good." The oldest man rubbed his hands, before clapping them together and leaving the couch he has been sitting on. "Then we are done here."_

She blinked, tugging herself into the reality again, just as Luka took the last left turn, leaving her with just enough time to scream, before the car went to a sudden halt no more than a centimetre from a raspy, old looking roadblock.

….

Alaric growled as his back after being thrown forward, firmly hit the car sit, hearing Ethan's sigh beside him as well as Ky's irritated yell.

"What the hell, man!? You said you know how to drive this thing."

"Well, I do, if there is somewhere I can drive it to." Luka turned around and answered from the veil, before turning the car of and stepping out of it, urging them to follow. "We have arrived. And I think we have a problem."

The first thing Alaric noticed when he set his feet on the muddy, with grass ranked meadow was fog. It was thick, much thicker than it seemed from the car, its moisture wetting his hair while his eyes were trying to accustom to the wetness, revealing the sight before him more and more with their every blink and filling his body with worry and fear.

The road block in front of him was rusty and old looking, yet it seems to still serve its purpose well, seated in a holding pole heavily, the lifted weight on its other side not even a few feet away from a small rundown cottage; a small porous piece of fabric fastened onto the arch which was once probably standing on the top of houses roof but was, due to its state, now almost completely sunken into its inwardness.

His eyes meet Ethan's. He didn't expect this either- it looked like the vampire knew how to play with them. If this place really was what it reminded him of, they didn't have a chance of hearing their leader's screams for help if something went wrong, yet alone come at the right time. They didn't even know how large this whole place was and how many hiding spots it had. Their plan was useless.

"It looks like… a camp." Kyle stated behind him, causing the man to flinch.

"More like an old resort." Ethan corrected him, his eyes already completely focused on Jonas's son who was slowly running his hand over the block, his fingers a few centimetres above its surface, his back turned towards them. "What is it, Luka?"

"I…I don't know." His reply was shaky. "There is a different energy, on the other side of this sluice. A strong one."

"Like a spell?"

"Could be, but not a bad one. It seems like it's protecting me … It… It feels like family."

"So… What are we going to do?" Ky turned to Ethan again. "You are supposed to meet in less than fifteen minutes."

The old man locked his gaze with Alaric again, the wordless question in his eyes answered with the teachers reassuring nod. He knew what his job was.

"We will stick to the plan."

* * *

Without even a flash light they were staggering through the fog, their eyes full of fear and caution as they winced at every twig crunch, wind howl, or every other sound strong enough for their ears to catch, creating quite an amusing scene from where he was, hidden in the dark of one of the many almost completely battered wooden sheds that bordered the main clearing which once served as a gathering place, at every glance surprising him with another hidden memory he thought was long forgotten. Not all of them were happy, yet every time he returned to the present and scanned his surroundings again a smile found its way back to his face. He needed to be mature, he knew, this was supposed to be about Elena after all, but situation like this one came once in a lifetime, so why not take it? They couldn't see him anyway. He laughed again. They looked like cute lost puppies.

He stood up and came to them as they reached the clearing, scanning the man who was standing next to Elena's aunt and was now in reach of his fangs in detail.

He took the first turn to greet them. "I am glad you could make it; it looks like my path directions were clear enough after all. I am Damon", he eyed the man again. "I believe we haven't officially met yet?"

The man nodded. "I am Ethan, and you already know Elena's aunt Jenna."

The strawberry blonde looked even more pale than the first time they talked. "Of course." He bowed his head in her direction a bit.

"What about the people in the car? Care to tell me their names too?" Something flickered in man's eyes; probably worry before he succeeded in hiding it again.

"They are only here for our protection. You don't have to worry about them, thought, they won't do anything, not even cross the sluice. It's just us here, like you demanded."

"Well, as long as they really stay there that's fine with me. I would have brought my own backup too, if I had one."

"Fair enough… You said you have proof that the girl is OK?"

He reached in his jacket pocket and brought out his telephone, pressing the only number on its menu before stepping a stride closer to the pair and handing the device to the woman. "She will be on line in a second."

* * *

"We have to go inside! We need to help them!" Kylan's voice kept disturbing Alaric's attempts to be able to catch any sound they agreed on using as an emergency.

"We can't."

"Why not? Because he said so!?"

"Exactly."

"What if he gets himself killed?"

"He won't." He turned to meet Ky's desperate figure. With Ethan being like a second father to him understanding where he was coming from completely. But this was the job he gave them, the job he trusted them with. And yes, both group members that were there with him had done jobs before, but never like this. Never something this big. Unlike the first four, they have never been in a situation where they had to worry about someone that much, not knowing what was happening to that person, not knowing if he is alive. But they needed to learn. They had to. Trust was all they had, but it was worthless if you gave it too quickly. "If the vampire would want him dead, we would see him by now."

* * *

Her palm shook as she held the telephone against her ear, the rings echoing through it for what seemed like a lifetime before someone finally picked up and she was greeted by the caution voice of her niece.

"Hello?"

"Elena? Oh my God, Elena, are you OK?"

"Jenna?" the voice on the other side of the line whispered, almost in fear that this was kind of a wicked prank.

"Yes, it's me. Are you all right? How are you feeling?"

"I am fine…" She could hear her smile trough the tears that were, by the sounds she was hearing, obviously running down her cheeks. "More that fine now, actually. Ho…How is Jeremy? How is he doing?"

"He will be better now, a lot better. He misses you like crazy, thought."

"Well tell him I love him and that I will see him soon OK?"

"I will…" The vampire motioned her to hand him his device back. "Listen, I have to go now. But I.. I will see you shortly."

A single tear ran down her face as she pressed the end call button.

….

"You have got it, so tell me now." Damon jumped right into asking one of the most important questions of the night. "After she comes with you, what happens?"

"Right now we just want her to come so we know that she is OK and reunite her with her family. After some time and after we talk to her, thought, she will be presented with options on what to do next. It will be her choice and everything we propose after it will stem out of that choice," the man replied.

"But what will the choices presented to her be? You have to have a bigger motive behind all of this."

"We do. And so do you." He decided not to push it, knowing that the only way the man was going to tell him his reasons for wanting to save Elena would be if he told him his. "We will talk to Elena about it when we meet her."

"And when do you want that to be?"

"As soon as possible."

"In three days than, same place, same time… And bring vervain." Ethan's eyes shined with curiosity.

"Why? Why not tomorrow?" Jenna's almost panicked voice asked. Great, now they think he is hurting her.

"She said she was fine, and she is. But Elena has been through a lot lately, and she needs time to recover before she will be able to choose her next step responsibly. After being in the CRS for almost two months, coming out was quite a shock for her. She needs time and peace. I don't want to rush her into anything when she is not ready." It was truth; the girl has been acting different lately. Avoiding conversation even with Gabe and rejecting food while the bags under her eyes got bigger every day, one of the best signs to confirm that she was lacking sleep. And now he was only left with three days to fix her.

* * *

Damon's hair was damp as he walked through the familiar doorstep, tiny water drops from the drizzle outside running down his leather jacket. He took it off, throwing it on the wooden, ancient looking coat hanger he once bought, before he let his ears focus on the only thing that he knew will keep him sane after the exhausting night like this one. Her heartbeat emerging from the living room was strong. Quick, but steady, reminding him on his mission as well as causing his own heart to shrink at something he knew was coming, but only hit him now. They will never let him come with them. Humans. After they will get Elena he will never see her again. Was it enough? Will his task be finished then? He didn't know. But it didn't feel right yet. He still had so much to make up for. Will she be safe? Will she miss him? Did she know? He didn't think so. But if he only had three days left with her he will make the best of them as well as prepare her for what was coming. She needed to know. She deserved to. But not today.

Before he knew his legs carried him through the hallway, his pace quickening when he focused enough to hear not only Gabe's whispers, but Elena's uneven breaths. Was she just really shocked or crying, he couldn't tell until he found himself standing under the doorframe of the room they were in, not even slightly prepared for what happened next. For only a moment he was able to see Gabe holding the girl's hand, clearly in an attempt to somehow comfort her as tears run down her face, before she become aware of his presence, their gazes only connecting for a second and then suddenly she was running, with her messily braided hair and eyes full of pain, diving into his arms for a hug, the words of gratitude erupting from her without a pause.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Her small frame was shaking around him, her palms grabbing onto the back of his shirt for support, causing him to pull her even closer to him, one hand on the top of her back, the other gently stroking her head, the only thing he was able to catch before lowering his lips to her ear the fact that Gabe has left the room.

"Shhh." He tried to stop the rush of her words, slowly stepping backwards until they reached the couch, bringing her to his chest in their already standard position he knew she was comfortable with. "What's wrong?"

Sure, he expected her to be happy about being able to talk to her aunt, choosing to surprise her with it, but crying this hard was never on his list of her possible reactions. There had to be something else.

He could feel a sob ran through her, but she swallowed it, struggled to pull herself back together, her voice wheezy. "I am just so happy they are OK."

"That's not it. You know it's not it." He continued to caress her hair for a few seconds, before softly lifting her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes, a motion she has avoided doing not just since today, but for more than two days after she went outside to find herself a reading place. Apparently she run into Gabe there, whom Damon has since then been begging to ran through the conversation they had over and over, trying to think what caused the girl's change in behaviour, only to come up with nothing. "You can tell me. Just tell me whatever it is and we will make it all better. It will all go away, all you have to do is tell me. It's the most important part of overcoming anything, you know, talking about it. It's the only way I can help you."

"Well you shouldn't, then." She sounded almost angry now, pushing herself away from him as she rebuilt her walls back up quickly.

He felt like someone would just hit his head with a hammer, the sudden realisation causing his eyes to widen as he mentally slapped himself before voicing his next statement. The social withdrawal, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, mood swings… It was so obvious. He should have realised it sooner.

"You feel guilty." He watched her wings freeze in mid flap, standing in front of him now, the only thing that still offered her comfort her hand in his, as his words stopped her before she was able to pull away from him completely. "The accident…. You feel like it's your fault."

….

She could feel his eyes on her, studying her reaction, causing her to bow her head in shame and fear and before she could stop it another sob shook through her. It felt like… relief. Like a part of her wanted him to know.

In an instant she was in his arms again, her tears soaking the shirt she hid her face into. Out loud the words sounded so pathetic, so weak, so stupid… And then his voice found her ear again, whispering, calming her, telling her it is OK until she was able to make out her surroundings again, meeting his gaze.

"Hey," he offered her a small smile his lips finding her forehead again before he continued. "I was right wasn't I?"

She let herself nod, slowly, hesitantly, the pain in her chest increasing as if reminding her she shouldn't be telling him this, that she didn't deserve his help, that she didn't deserve to get better, but the urge to fight was stronger.

She heard him sigh, probably in relief that she wasn't denying his statement before the circle around her tightened, bringing her closer to him again, reminding her of a few days ago when she laid in just the same position. She missed this.

….

"We will get you through this, I promise, and I know it's hard but in order to do so we need to be able to talk about what you are experiencing right now, OK?" He looked back down, noticing her suddenly fearful eyes. "I know something is telling you not to do this, but you have to. You have to fight it. You trust me, right?"

His fear of rejection was so strong that he wasn't even sure if he wanted to hear her answer, yet when she took his hand in hers and laid them over his slowly beating heart he knew what it was going to be.

"I do."

* * *

**Dear sondrex76:**

**Thank you so much for your reviews, they make me smile every time I see them. :) I really love how since you read it, (btw all of it in one day is kind of amazing, I am glad I was able to get you hooked, ;)) you write something every time I update a new chapter to keep me inspired, express your enthusiasm and a wish to read more which ALWAYS brightens my day. I wish this chapter as well as my response to your reviews couses yours to become even better than it already is too. As for your thanks for me writing this story… Anytime! I mean it; it's one of my favourite things to do. :)**

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Dear DamonPercyRBae: **

**OMG, thank you so much! This is without a doubt one of sweetest review I have gotten so far :) I am glad you like the story and hope this chapter exceeds your expectations or at least meet them. As for Delena: the moments they had in the last episode we so cute! As for the promo for the next one, so good…The kiss! They will get back together for sure now but as much as I like this whole "falling in love again" idea, I hope Elena gets her memories back at one point. (They were far to amazing for her to just forget them forever.) Well I guess we will see. God the waiting for this mid-season break to be over almost killed me. **

**Thank you for your support again, you are amazing, never forget that! If you ever decide to make a profile here, either to write stories or just to be able to follow them don't hesitate to PM me if you want to. I feel like we could be friends. Oh, and given what you said about your love for Damon and Elena in the review… Their relationship is still evolving in this story. Right now they don't know, what is it, how would they call it. A friendship? Something Elena needed to feel safe? Or just a part of the job Damon thinks he has to do to be forgiven? Whatever it is it's growing. Slowly, of course, but with every chapter that I write and if you like to watch that happening at least half as much as much as I do, you will certainly like the next one ;) **

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone :)**

**You guys ROCK! The last chapter got the most reviews yet. I love that you are all so caught in this story and as eager to know what is going to happen next as I am writing it. I will try to reply to as many of your comments as I can below, so look for your avatar name there. :) If you have a question about the story, don't hesitate to let me know. And keep this up, I love reading your thoughts and reactions!**

**Okay, so this chapter is all about Damon fighting with knowledge that he will have to leave and Elena doing the same with her guilt. There is a quite… serious scene of that, not too dark in my opinion, but it could be a trigger for some people so I will leave a warning below. **

**I hope you were able to survive these three days after your last review Sherri, I loved your enthusiasm and tried to update this as soon as I could. I guess you will just have to keep reading to see what happens… Our hearts have a big peace in common, thought. ;)**

**(Oh and I am sorry if you got two e-mails for the last chapter, I somehow managed to post the unedited version of it first and than had to change it.) **

**I love you all,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream **

**WARNING: The scene below contains thinking about committing suicide, if you are uncomfortable with reading things like that or think that they could be triggering for you, please just skip to the part under the dots.**

* * *

_»__It is the pain. What keeps reminding me of it, but not a stabbing one, more like… A pressure of sorts, like someone was squeezing my heart and when it gets worse, it is like I… I can't breathe... L-like I…"_

"_Like you are drowning."_

The perfectly varnished wooden stairs were cold under her feet, the footsteps she took slow, cautious as she was, still not completely trusting her body, making her way downstairs, replaying the conversation she had with Damon less than twelve hours ago in her mind.

"_It feels so real… Like I am in the water again and I… I c-cant…"_

"_But you are not, Elena. It is NOT real. The whole thing is just an illusion, your psyche is playing with you. A trick, nothing more. Now, don't get me wrong, I know it is still something that your body, in that moment, thinks it is happening, but this pain is not the problem we are talking about, it is its consequence. And if we want to get rid of it we have to dig deeper… What upset you tonight? I know it was your conversation with Jenna that caused the pain to worsen, but what started it? The guilt? The blame? What were your first thoughts when you got on the phone?"_

"_Jenna. S-she sounded so happy to hear me… And I wanted to find out how Jeremy was for so long, but I just… Couldn't take it… She w-was nice… Too nice." _

_She felt his arms tighten around her as her voice cracked, another wave of shivers running through her. _

"_Tell me."_

"_I k-killed them. I am the reason her sister is dead, I just… I couldn't stand listening to her that relieved that I, the one who did all this is OK… And Jeremy… He should hate me. He probably does… I mean, I ruined everything… I am ruining him, right this second… He doesn't deserve to live like this. And I am the cause of why he has to. Why didn't I prevent it? All I needed was to keep quiet and none of it would have happened. B-But I couldn't in that moment… I was s-so angry and I…"_

"_Shhhh, Elena… Hey, look at me. It wasn't your fault. You know it wasn't, there were so many other things that happened, other elements that caused the car to slip. The damp road, the bridge that should have been renovated years ago, the poor visibility… They are all one of them, the crash could just as easily happen without you in the car, this is just a part of you talking… As for your brother… Do you really think he could ever hate you? I mean, you are his sister after all, the one he had to love enough to risk his life for. And if the roles were swapped… Wouldn't you do the same? He loves you, Elena. Regardless of how a part of you wanted him to react. Just make sure you cherish that, OK? Even if you don't feel like you should now. You deserve it. All of it."_

She was still shaking as she reached the ground floor, her mind flashing between dreams and reality in a frightening matter, the nightmare still holding her in its claws forcing her back into the water with every second breath she took. And it was alright. It felt right to be there, with them. If only she would, if only…

The cold night was what brought her back to her senses, the almost full moon above her hidden behind a cloud, lightening the garden just enough that she was able to make out the shapes of the nearby bushes. What was she doing here? The fear washed over her. She shouldn't be here… Damon… He told her to fight, to wake him up if anything happened… But the night was calm, the darkness that used to scare her as a child peaceful, letting her know that it was fine, calming her and filling her with guilt at the same time. But it wasn't enough, the pain in her chest, the fear… The price for what she did felt too low. The vampire was wrong; she did deserve this.

She couldn't remember the moment her eyes first found the pier. Was it the wind that brought the fresh air to her? The sound of the small waves crashing against the wooden columns supporting it? She didn't know, yet suddenly it all became clear. The price… She knew what she had to do. It was the only way and this was her only chance. Damon would be furious if he knew what she was doing…

Damon. She stopped dead in her tracks, flinching as she realised where she was standing. The water was all around her, her toes curling around the piers end like it was a lifeline, both the wind and the tiny drops of the braking waves cooling her feet, causing her to panic. She shouldn't be here, this wasn't right, she can't do this. She wanted to run, she did. She wanted to burst into Damon's room, so that he would let her cry in his shirt, finding comfort in his words, but she couldn't. She couldn't move. The urge was too strong.

To jump, to pay for what she did, to feel the fear all over again… to drown? A sob escaped her as she pleaded with herself, trying to convince herself that this is not what she wanted, yet she couldn't help to not push her body forward, looking down onto the dark cold surface of the lake and catching her faint reflection. She looked like a wreck, her eyes puffy, tears running down her face… Would it make her feel better? The water? Maybe… Maybe the pain would go away then? This is how it works, right? She has to settle her debt before she can move on.

She was sobbing uncontrollably now, finding it hard to breathe, the cold air not refreshing anymore, the night not calming. She didn't fight hard enough, she couldn't and she lost the battle. The urge was stronger than her fear and now it was time to face the consequences.

Before she was even able to take another breath, her legs showed her of the edge, both fear and guilt causing her attempted scream to get caught in her throat. It was over now. She deserved this. This was the end. It felt like a lifetime, those few seconds she had left before she would hit the water. What was she doing again? She couldn't do this, there were still people out there that needed her and she wanted to be there for them, wanted to fight… But it was too late now, far too late.

The last thing she saw before closing her eyes were millions of tiny water drops glistening in the moonlight. She felt her wings open and her feet never touched the surface.

….

"There you go now, squash it, squash it! What the hell?!" Gabe's cry cut through the living room as the character Elena played killed his with just one jump, winning the game for at least fifth time in a row, causing her to laugh once again and leaving the vampire who was leaning against the doorway facing the two to stand there, amazed.

He thought he was dreaming, the first time he heard her, having a hard time convincing himself that the sound did belong to the girl in front of him. It was sweet, careless and so innocent… heavenly. That was the word to describe it. He felt like it was renewing him, changing him if only just for a short second in a man he wanted to become. The one without hatred or haunting past. Someone good. Someone he will never be able to fully become.

He resented her in that moment, the girl who offered him a smile not even a heartbeat earlier, before turning towards the screen again, bestowing her focus to the game. He hated how much he needed her, how much his plan has blinded him, hated his mind for being able to convince himself he still had a chance. Ever since he first saw her hope has anchored back into his heart. For the first time in years he was able to appreciate the new day as it came, savouring it, enjoying it, eager to know what kind of a change in him it will bring. But he was wrong, so wrong. He had no chance, there was no sign, all he did was for nothing. He eyed the angel in front of him again before sighing and leaving the room. It was something, truthfully, but for the girl, not for him. Still, a part of him couldn't bring himself to regret it. Sure, his mind incited him to get her out for a selfish reason, fooling him but if it hadn't she would be dead. And he couldn't seem to stand the idea. No, she had to be safe, even if it meant being away from him. Destroying him for good. In two days he will be left with nothing but emptiness.

He didn't know how long he have been sitting there, on a small wooden bench at the western part of the garden, watching the sun lowering behind the nearest hill, the clouds blurring the colours, before he felt her presence next to him, the edge of her wing brushing gently against his side as she sat down.

It was almost like she was a different person from the troubled, broken girl he held in his arms the evening before: laughing, smiling, running around and twirling, the twinkles back in her eyes. Sure, she still jumped a little every time the water poured loudly from the pipe, or stirred when he mentioned that they will have to use a car to get to the second meeting, but in general he had never seen her this happy before. Could it just be from his words? The change in her? It didn't seem possible. There was something different about her, he could feel it. The guilt wasn't gone completely, but she had tamed it, it seemed like her enthusiasm has paid off after all. She has won.

"You can ask me anything, you know." Her voice broke the peace after they have both been staring at the sky for a few minutes. It was hesitant, thought, not what he expected and she swallowed before continuing. "The things you want to know, some of which you asked me before, but I didn't answer…" Elena's eyes met his confused ones. "I will tell you everything I know now, I promise."

"W-what? Why would you do that Elena? You don't even know a thing about me, and you want to tell me about the things you clearly aren't comfortable talking about, just to try to meet the cost of what I have done to save you? Don't, OK? It doesn't work like that. It is not going to. You don't owe me anything." The girl was looking at her feet now, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she wringed her hands in her lap, causing him to realise just how harsh his tone was.

"Hey," he lifted her chin up. "I am sorry, I wasn't in the right mood for this. What I meant was that you shouldn't feel like that, I was selfish. What we have, this… friendship of sorts, it won't work if you think I have the right to know everything about you. You will tell me what you really want to tell me when you are ready. Until then, thought, why don't you ask me anything, get to know me a little?"

She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, before shaking the tension away with a playful shrug. "Okay then… How old are you exactly?"

"Three hundred and twenty six. I was born in Italy, not here, though I don't even remember it. I was two when we moved here for my father to be able to enlarger his plantation business. "

"For how long have you been working in the centre?"

"Two hundred years, give or take… It wasn't one of the happiest periods."

Her forehead wrinkled. "But you spent more than two thirds of your life there anyway? Why?"

"They snatched me up, kind of, regarding that I was a doctor before…" He couldn't help, but laugh at her expression. "What? You seriously thought they would take just anyone without even some basic knowledge? Please."

She didn't smile, much to his surprise, her voice hesitant as she spoke the next sentence, urging him to continue. "Gabe said you compelled him…"

"Yeah, I did," he sighed. "But just so he wouldn't be able to tell anyone we are here and he agreed to it. It is safer for all of us. At least this way we know that he can't get in any trouble."

"So if another vampire compelled him to tell him where we are…?"

"He wouldn't be able to say. I got him first, it's how it works."

"Why did you come here?"

"I had some things I wanted to talk to you about, but didn't know how to do it, so I left." It was the truth. She deserved to know he won't be able to go with her, the ideas on how to hand the news to her running through his mind, yet he couldn't find the right moment until now.

"What is it?" Elena was looking at him with worry now, seeming to learn it was something bad from his body language, scanning his face carefully.

"The group. After the meeting that is coming up, they want you to leave with them and your family… Take you all somewhere safe, probably… And I want to come with you, believe me, I do, but… I am a vampire, and since they fight against us, there is no way that they would… They won't let me."

"B-but I…" She sounded terrified, her scared eyes filling him with warmth. She wanted him with her.

"You will be alright," he quickly interrupted, wrapping his arms around her reassuringly. "You will have your brother there and your aunt, they will make sure the others treat you right. And I am sorry. I know I said I will be there for you at all times, but you are strong, Elena. You can do this, hell, you can do anything given what you already went through." She was still in his embrace, holding herself to him as tightly as humanly possible, before slowly locking her gaze with his, the power behind it freezing his hand that was stroking her wings.

"I know."

* * *

**Dear petrovaaa:**

Thank you for reviewing, it means so much for me especially since you stuck with doing so from the very first chapter. And about keeping up the good work... I will try my best. ;)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

**Dear sondrex76:**

Hi again :)

You were right about the flying! As for the other special abilities Elena might have all I can say without spoiling anything is wait and see. You will learn everything about her new form alongside with her… But good thinking, feel free to come up with more theories, you are kind of good at this and thanks for expressing your thought again, I am glad you liked the chapter, hope you feel the same way about this one too,

Love ,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

P.S: Don't worry about the grammar, it might be going slow but practice really is what makes it perfect. And talking about perfect, mine clearly isn't. Just don't give up.

**Dear sorrybout'ya:**

Thank you! I am really excited about what your reactions to the next chapters will be. :)

Love ,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


	20. Chapter 20

Hi :)

**(**This author's note will be really long, so if you are in a hurry to read the chapter feel free to only read the part that is written **like this.** Enjoy :)**)**

So… New update? It is been a while, I know. Hell, it has been four months since I posted chapter 19 and so much happened since then. I visited Nica, Barcelona, Lloret de mar and Cannes with school during the spring break and it was awesome! I believe you have all seen this season finale? (If you haven't yet please skip to the next paragraph so that you won't get any spoilers.) I don't know how I feel about it really. I expected more. Killing Ky seemed too easy, Enzo was kind of a disappointment, Delena's goodbye was beautiful indeed, but I kind of wanted to hear some kind of a dialogue and I just, I don't know if watching the vampire diaries without Elena is for me. I mean I love Damon of course and the last scene with what looked like a post-apocalyptic Mystic falls was really tempting but I still don't know if I will watch season 7 yet. I guess we will see, you most certainly will be informed about it, don't worry. :) Thank god I have the Originals to catch up on during the summer. Anyway what did you think? From what I saw on the social media the viewers responses were quite varying.

**Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about. You waited for this chapter for a long time. A really, really long time. And I wanted nothing more than to inform you what was holding me back and when will this chapter be uploaded , but didn't want to give you false hope with just uploading a really long AN, because I know exactly how it feels when you get an e-mail that a new chapter has been posted when it's really not. So I tried to come up with a way where we could actually be able to communicate about anything, really, a way I could let all of the guest reviewers know that a new chapter was posted and inform you if a time like this when I won't be able to post anything for a while will come again. A place where we would be able to connect more. So I made myself a site on Tumblr, learned how to use it (approximately) and started using it frequently. That means that you can, from now on you also find and ask me anything** **even if you don't have a Tumblr profile yourself here: (please remove all of the spaces before copying this into your browser)**

On that note… I am really sorry I had to keep you all waiting for so long for this chapter. Right at the time my schedule was packed with exams I got sick for like two weeks, so I was once again behind both on school work and getting all of my grades on time. It was fine thought, I got back into the system quickly, working hard and it seemed like everything will go as planned… Until I got sick AGAIN, wasn't able to go to school for over a week, got my antibiotics back (double dose this time) and was really worried that I won't be able to finish the school year when my classmates would and will have to extend it far into summer holidays…Yet I worked my ass off, was sitting behind my desk at home for days doing nothing else but study and somehow did it. With really good results if I may add, so I celebrated with inviting a few of my friends at our family country cottage for a week and spend the next one writing this chapter for you guys ;), well kind of.

The first half was written part by part in March and April, and the second half was written during the last few days. As you can see there was a bit of a break there, longer than ever before so I was a little rusty at first, but I think that after a few tries it all turned our well. Ready for the second meeting, everyone?

Dig in!

With love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

P.S: The same meanings remain…

**This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.**

**A full line _ means that we jumped to the POV of a person who is elsewhere than the person we were reading trough before, but what he or she is doing is happening at the same time, parallel with what is happening to the person we were accompanying before. Or are reading the same persons POV than before but he is in another place and there was a time jump from what we were reading before and what we are reading now.**

**The parts of the story that are written **_like this_** are flashbacks.**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Damon's hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, knowing that with every turn he took, every damn meter of the old, bumpy, dusty macadam road the car staggered over was bringing both him and the girl closer to the destination of the meeting, closer to their goodbye. He thought about turning around once every ten minutes, truthfully, knowing that would be their only option, convincing himself that he would be able to get Elena out of here safely, on his own, not letting anyone else even lay eyes on his miracle, yet he knew that was a lie. He couldn't do it, there was no way he would succeed. And even if he could, would it matter? As much as she wanted him to stay, Elena would hate him for not reuniting her with her family. The feeling of entrapment was making him sick, the lyrics of the quiet music that he put on the radio getting lost in the rambling of the car, not helping his nerves at all, so he did the second best thing and glanced at the angel beside him.

She was staring through the side window, seemingly lost in her own thoughts as her eyes followed the dark trees passing by, every once in a while lifting her gaze and stretching her neck to get a better look at the constellations above them. It was strange to see her like that, dressed in a skinny jeans and a purple t-shirt, a grey cardigan in her lap and a pair of Converse on her feet, reminding him of who she was rather than what he thought she meant to him when he first saw her, a young teenage girl stuck in a big mess without seeing it coming at all, once again showing him her strength with how well she managed to come to terms with the situation she was in. It has been a day since she came up with the solution on how to rearrange her clothes to fit over her wings, with only three notches and two buttons creating a hole through which she put them, pulling the rest of the shirt on before buttoning it up, causing her back to be completely covered, but letting her wings to flap freely. He haven't seen her without a needle in hand after that, whether she was joining Gabe in his room watching him test one of his new video games, or just hanging outside on the bench enjoying the warm weather, it was always with her, probably as the result of the unspoken goal she set herself, that all of the stuff she owned now will be transformed before she sees her family again. It wasn't long before he offered his help, surprising her with the skill he hasn't used in the past hundred years at least, which led to her unknowingly rewarding him with her laughter at Gabe's failed attempts as she tried to teach him what she said was the task every man was supposed to know how to master, surprising him with her patience yet again.

A small smile lingered on his lips at the memory.

He could still feel the hug she gave him after landing back on the pier this afternoon warming him, the way she ran to him after her wings stopped flapping and the way one of her hands found its way into his dark locks as he buried his head into her hair, breathing in her scent and struggling to find words, storing the perceptions of his every sense safely into his memory. The one he will never be able to forget, of that he was sure. When she grabbed his hand and led him outside, telling him she has to show him something before they leave he wasn't sure what to expect, wanting to scream after her as she approached the last board, closing to the edge of the dock, stopping him with a small smile. Her spread wings were rising and falling slowly before she took off, the view of her in mid-air affirming more than one of his speculations. She _was_ sent, she _was_ angelic, but she wasn't here _for him_. And he was going to lose her.

….

She trembled at how small the silhouettes in front of her made her feel, the old decrypting houses filling her with anything but the feeling of safety as she ran her eyes across her surroundings instinctively, again and again, searching for a place to hide. The openness was what she feared, strangely making her feel like she was under the scrutiny of not only the houses but the ghosts of the people she imagined used to live here. The memory of the last time she felt so helpless- in her room at the CRS under the strict eyes of Elijah Michelson- taking over her senses. She was able to feel the darkness lurking on her as if it was considering to take her or not before wrapping itself tightly around her small figure, causing her increasing heartbeat to echo through her mind and the breath she was taking to stick in her throat.

"Elena? Are you OK?" She blinked, snapping out of the spiral of feelings and thoughts, meeting a pair of bright blue worry filled eyes, the concern in the vampire's voice more than evident.

"I am fine…I... I just… What is this place?"

"Oh, god." His eyebrows raised in surprize after he stopped scanning the look on her face, his voice quickly turning into obviously played scolding. "Why am I only learning about this now? Didn't you think that the fact that after everything you have been through the one thing you are afraid of is the dark is important enough to share it with me? I should have figured it out the first time you came to me at night. But it doesn't matter anymore, does it? It seems like I will have to get used to the girl falling asleep beside me after all."

"Oh, shut up!" She felt the heat gather in her cheeks as they coloured slightly and - refusing to let him get away with this -instantly got her revenge by bumping into his side quick enough that it came as a surprise to Damon's heightened senses, causing him to lose balance, his laugh echoing through the surroundings as he stumbled a few steps to his right before being able to walk back towards her again, the sight putting a small smile on her lips. "Don' act like you aren't happy with it. Besides, it wasn't the dark I was worried about. Have you even realised how many hiding spots this place has? We could have been spied on from the second we stepped out of the car and wouldn't even know about it!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down now. I didn't choose this place solely because of my sense for theatricality, its protection from our species is one of the best in America! And yes, I can cross its boundaries," he smiled at her expression, jumping in before her next question could leave her already open mouth, closing them for her. "But not all vampires made a pact with the witches."

She threw a short, fearful glance to the demolishing buildings again, before turning back to him, pouting. "It is still creepy."

Well, if it helps to know… It wasn't always like that." He grew quiet for a few seconds as if trying to recall the memories, the look on his face turning into a dreamy one, and when he spoke again, his voice held a tone she never heard before. It was quiet, fragile but passionate, bringing each word to life, painting the sights he used to see in front of her eyes. "It was much more alive once, waking it's residents with the soft ray of the rising sun, shining though the dusty window glass, accompanying them on every step of their way, giving them and you a feeling like it is watching over you even if this was the first time you came here, like it has seen every part of you yet is still able to love you. Bringing you piece. The witches and their families honoured it like it was secret even if they knew it wasn't, cultivating its soil with caution and care, while the children played in its haven, running around, climbing threes as their youngest siblings slept under their tops. The lake a few minutes' walk away and the rivulet which is flowing in it was providing them with cold, refreshing water, the purest I have ever seen, bringing life to the food they were growing as well as a refreshment to its guardians during the many hot summers, before the lack of sunshine caused them to illuminate the night with fires again and then lulled them asleep. I know it probably seems scary to you because of how deeply you can sense the echoes of the people who used to live here, but isn't exactly that what makes it special? What shows its love? It hasn't let go of the memories yet. It still remembers every single movement, every conversation, keeping it locked safely, deep in its soul, keeping it alive, keeping the people that left it here alive.  
It is when you stop judging it for its ghosts, accept and fully understand its commitment, that you are first able to take a glance of its beauty."

She kept her voice low, not wanting to erase the charm of the beautiful scenes he created just yet. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Damon's soft smile fell, disappearing as quickly as his whispered reply,  
his eyes that were filled with care less than a minute ago turning sad after they stood in silence for a few moments, his thumb still on her cheek, tracing her jaw.

"Elena, I…"

"Don't. Not yet," she wrapped her hands around him, hoping to ease his grief by running her palm through his hair, not being able to overlook how soft they were, her next words comforting, but firm. "I am still here. I am not leaving you yet."

"I am sorry. I just… I can't even..."

"Hey, you will be OK. We will see each other again, I promise."

"I... I will miss you so much." He was shaking now, the words slipping from his tongue with great effort and curtly like it would pain him to have to use them, causing her to hide her face in his shirt as her eyes filled with tears, not being able to hold his troubled look any longer.

"I am going to miss you too." She felt his lips press on the top of her head for a moment, breathing in his scent as his arms brought her closer, the only thing that mattered the intimacy of the moment, before he went stiff in her embrace, making her pull away to look at him confused. His eyes fixed on the forest behind her, his muscles tense and his expression hardening by the second, the shadows of emotions running over his face unreadable.

"They are here."

* * *

The silence was so thick Alaric was sure he would be able to cut it with a knife, occasionally interrupted by the soft sounds of the leaves dancing in the gentle night breeze. And yet he could feel the tension emerging from the figures around him in waves, increasing with every soft click his wristwatch made as its second hand moved forward, causing the boy standing next to him to twitch while his aunt stared blankly ahead, hope draining from her features faster than a shooting star he saw disappearing just a minute ago.

If he wouldn't be too worried himself, he would laugh at how similar this moment was to the awfully vivid memory of when he was still in primary school, sitting in his chair restlessly as one of his classmates was being asked by a teacher, the knowledge that the answer he had in mind was correct but he wasn't allowed to share it pumping blood through his veins much quicker than usual. They all knew that what was haunting them was time, yet none of them wanted to share that with another, look at the clock maybe. It would be much harder than if they all just pretended that the questions constantly repeating in their minds weren't at all legitimate. Were they here? Were they coming? Did the vampire lie? Did they bail on them? The meeting should have started ages ago.

He gently squeezed his hand around a vervain grenade in his jacket pocket, one of the small, inconspicuous motions he learned in the last war that seemed to have become stress relievers in situations like this, helping him focus on the job and not on his nerves, yet it hadn't seem to be able to do its job today and he was well aware of why. If something went wrong, they really didn't stand a chance since Jonas presented them with the idea that no weapons were needed because nothing bad is going to happen and while the majority of the group (including himself)didn't really agree with his interpretation, they certainly did with his proposal. As Lynn said: if she was to come to a trading meeting and found a person she was negotiating with pointing his gun at her head, she would be gone before they could even say a word. They were only accompanied by Luka, their second car driver and keeper. If the girl was in a bad state they couldn't have her be stuffed in the backseat between her siblings until they would reach Ethan's house again. Did he tell the same explanation to Jeremy? No. He told him the vampire will leave his sister alone for the sake of getting what he wanted and haven't changed his opinion about the subject since. But even with the conversation Jenna had with Elena three days ago they couldn't know that for sure. And besides, it wasn't only her physical state they were worried about. Psychological wounds can be just as fatal. He, Bill, Jonas, Ethan, even Kylan… They all learned that lesson the hard way.

He glanced to their leader now, even if the oldest of his best friends never wanted to be called that. Alaric wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that they never really elected him or just a sign of his humbleness. The group has always been a completely democratically one. From the beginning when it was just the five of them and till now, when the number of participants raised to eight. All of their ideas were treated equally and then joined into one, final. But even like that they needed an organiser, someone who made sure there weren't any major disagreements or fall outs, someone who knew how to be effective while still laying low, someone with the ability to hold all of the strings at once and still be able to function properly. In everything he did, Ethan met those expectations. Even now, with everybody else constantly glancing over their shoulders and shifting their weights from one leg to another, his back muscles seemed at ease. If Alaric hadn't known him, he would think he was completely relaxed, but he knew him well enough that he was sure that wasn't the case. He was nervous just like everybody else was. He was just trying the hardest to look calm, so that nobody else would panic. With power came responsibilities, and he was aware of that. His body tensed as the others jumped, however, only him and the teacher remembering exactly what the sudden whoosh of air represented.

….

The humans jumped when he emerged from the dark. Literally jumped. Like they would just have seen a mouse next to their leg or something, and he couldn't help but be at least a little proud that he has found a way to irritate them before they even started talking, not feeling guilty even when he felt the painfully familiar eyes of the Gilbert boy bore into his skull, it was his fault too. It was his fault that she wanted to leave, his fault that he was going to lose the only person that somehow managed to make him feel. The one who took away the numbness like it was just a bad dream he woke up from. The one that was important to him. The one that mattered.

He scanned the newcomers. Elena's aunt and brother still trying to hide the shock from their faces, while the two men, were hard as stone. He wondered who the new guy was until the old one spoke. There was no beating around the bush this time; he went straight for the point.

"Where is the girl?"

"What do you want with her?"

»It's Elena who we will be having this conversation with. We talked about this already."

"We didn't. Not detailed enough. And you won't get a chance to discuss anything with anyone until you answer me. It hasn't been an easy task running from the centre you know, I think you at least owe me this as an apology for not being able to do your job right. "

"It was you who refused us first, but then took a chance and succeeded on your own. There is always a risk in making decisions. Sometimes we reach our goal, sometimes we don't, yet the chance is there, always."

He wished he could scream, he wish he could just turn around grabbed the girl and go when he heard her soft footsteps approaching the clearing behind his back. He knew what her words are going to be maybe even before she formed them and there was nothing he could do because that was what was right. What was right for her. "I will take it." She said and for a painful second, he swore he could hear his heart stop.

….

Before he even knew it Jeremy was running, his legs moving with speed he had never been able to achieve before, the amount of energy that ran through him unimaginable. There was only one goal in his mind, a destination not more than twenty steps ahead of him, emotions swirling inside his head with such power that he felt himself stagger. She was there, right in front of him, safe and sound, her dark eyes so filled with moonlight you could say they were shining, her hair gently fluttering in the wind as she tensed, evidences of worry and fear dancing upon her features and he wanted nothing more than to erase them, wipe them off forever.

A sob escaped his lips, not a millisecond before they collided, tears dripping from his face and onto her shirt as they feel on their knees, their hands grapping each others shirts tightly and nothing else mattered except that they were here, right now, wrapped in each others arms. The figures standing above them, the meeting, the danger, the dark all long forgotten in their closeness, the sound of silence only they knew, comfortable to the most intimate aspect. It was the silence that came on the long summer nights, sleepless because of the roaring rainstorms, the one they used to wake up to on Sunday mornings with the intoxicating smell of pancakes and French toast filling their noses. Full of love and acceptance, familiarity, acquaintance, _safety_. And he didn't even flinch as something soft and white and warm and feathery embraced him and pulled him closer.

* * *

**Dear DamonPercyRBae:**

Hey :)

I hope you haven't given up on me yet and are still checking the story for updates every couple of days… It was probably the site. It happens sometimes, there are so many stories on here that it just breaks down. Thank you for all of your lovely words. You are really sweet too and kind and I am so grateful for your support. I am so happy Elena really got her memories back, even though she is sleeping right now and can't be with Damon. If miss her so much I cannot even imagine how Damon feels right now. I really hope that Nina will return to film a few scenes for the end of the series so that the Delena reunion will be seen on the small screens. Hats down for Sheriff Forbes, she will forever be in my memory. The last connection between her and Caroline was so breathtakingly beautiful and heartbreakingly beautiful at the same time all I wanted to do was cry. As for Ian's episode: he did an extremely good job. You can now click the ask me anything button on Tumblr anytime if you want to talk more and don't worry you couldn't annoy me with your rambling even if you wanted too :). I hope to hear from you soon,

With love,

AGirlThatdaresToDream

**Dear sondrex76:**

Of course people don't enjoy scenes about suicide! They are usually dark and bring up the themes we usually aren't comfortable talking about, yet it would be wrong of me not to mention the thoughts that people dealing with survivor guilt have to live with and this is certainly not an easy topic. You see every time I tend to write a story of any kind I first concentrate on how to make it as realistic as possible for the world it is happening in, deepening into the characters stuck in what in Elena's case when she was still trapped in the CRS felt like an unexcapable situation. After that it is all about their reactions, personalities and how the changes in themselves accompanied by the outside events will help them follow the storyline I created for them. With hard situations like the one Elena had to go through, though, came consequences. Survivor guilt leading her to the scene I wrote in the previous chapter where a part of her tried to convince her to jump into the water because it was and partly still it a trigger for her, so basically she felt like she should bring another panic attack on herself so that she wouldn't feel so guilty anymore because she would pay the price, which at some point for a short moment brought to thinking about drowning and if it would help too. What bring us back to the point. Surviving guilt Elena is dealing with is a real condition and it can bring suicidal thoughts. Yes I checked everything about the condition before starting to write any part of it, it would be both unprofessional of me as a writer and unjust of me as a human being if I wouldn't. Now I am not going to list all of the signs of or what it causes, if you want to know feel free to type it into google search and you will shortly find a resemblance with how Elena was acting and what was she experiencing. There are more people than you think of in this world who are experiencing the same things, jet survival guilt, suicidal thinking and other mental conditions like depression or post-traumatic stress are the things we really talk, read, write or think about what causes more trouble for the people dealing with them. Yes talking about them might seem uncomfortable and hard, but it could save someone's life if you know what the conditions signs were. In the country that I leave in, suicides are the fifth most common reason for premature death, taking two of the students from my school in the last two years, and there were many other cases that I heard about or that are influencing on people that I know. If we stopped avoiding the theme some much, stopped thinking about it as a taboo, raised awareness, learn how to recognize the signs of someone's anguish and how to react, don't you think we could save them? I could have avoided writing the scene with Elena trying to jump in to jump in the water, or just not write about the guilt she had to live with sugar-coat everything and said that being in the car accident and then being locked in a room for two months didn't leave a mark on her and go on with a story but that wouldn't be realistic nor fair to all of the people who died because of or are currently struggling with survival guilt. So my point is we should talk about it, or read about it or write scenes like that even if they make us uncomfortable, to help others. The sadness or uneasiness that both you and I feel when we are listening about in could once help to save a life of someone we know. At least that's where my beliefs about the subject lie.

And about your theories: I don't want to ruin the story for you by spoiling anything but You might be really close on one of them…

Much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

**Dear jairem:**

I am glad you liked the story so much you read it in just one day and thank you for your questions. As mentioned in the first chapter and then later through the story Damon believes that there is some kind of a god, or a higher power that watches over or maybe even controls the world that he lives in. He believes in some kind of the afterlife and the last judgement he doesn't even spend too much time thinking about which god or power runs it or what does it look like (is it the word for all the supernatural creatures like in the series or heaven and hell) He just believes it does exists. So the answer to your first question is simple. Damon has done many things in his life he isn't proud of, or for which he feels guilty and is certain that he will be paying for it after he dies in what way he doesn't know, but he is certain that somehow he will and he doesn't want that. He also believes that if he somehow redeems himself to this power or god or whatever the guilt he now bears everyday will disappear. So when he saw Elena, he first thought that this was a sign for him that he can redeem himself and then slowly came to the belief that helping Elena will bring him the power's or god's forgiveness. For some time he thought that Elena was simply send here to help him change, but then realised it she must be here for something bigger than that and thought that helping her achieve the goal he doesn't know but is sure she was send here for will gain him the prize of being forgiven. The sign he is/was looking for was the confirmation that she was really send here and that he can still be forgiven. I hope I managed to cover everything for you and that you liked this chapter.

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

* * *

**Reviews are always welcome ;) **


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi, everybody :)**

**I won't be as long as last time, I promise :P.**

**First I want to again thank you all for your support; your reviews are so amazing and always seem to brighten my day.**

**I know I am (regarding my usual update time) quick with posting this chapter less than a week from posting the last one and I would love to be able to say that this will be our standard procedure from now on, but I can't do that. I am sorry. The next chapter will be a little trickier for me to write (a lot longer too)and I am going on holyday to the sea side with my family soon, so… Let's just say that it will be up as soon as I am done with it, OK? But let's focus on this one for now. **

**If you wondered what Jenna and Alaric think about the latest events as well as couldn't wait to see the first time Damon and our favourite history teacher will drink bourbon together in my story this one is for you. ;) **

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**P.S: If you don't have a profile on fanfiction and would like to know when the next chapter is going to be posted or if** **you have a question about the story visit agirlthatdarestodream . tumblr (without any spaces).**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

"They are gone. They are gone. No, no! They are GONE!" Jeremey's heart-breaking cries echoed through the car mixing with Elena's soft whispers of reassurance, making it harder and harder for Jenna to just give them space and continue to look through the back sit window, while holding one of her niece's sleeves as tightly as she could, knowing that she needed every help she could get to be able to hold herself together. There was something different about her; she expected the glow she once had in her eyes gone, replaced by fear, sadness, anger maybe, yet none was there. Nothing like it, and it was this emptiness that scarred her the most as Elena's eyes met hers, a small smile planted on her lips in a thankful notion, for a moment covering her obvious exhaustion. It was always like that with Elena, ever since she was a child she was the first to sense someone's pain and to figure out how to help. She used to think it was a beautiful process, watching the face of the person who was in pain relaxing slowly as the girl's filled with tension, like she was literally taking it from him, making it easier but now she couldn't think of a worst way to send her over the edge too. The last thing Elena needed right now was to break down in the car driving in the middle of nowhere, so she only gripped her hand tighter, hopping it will somehow help, hoping that she was doing the right thing for once as Jeremy's violent sobbing eased down into crying and the girl broke the eye contact they were sharing to glance at the figures sitting on the front sits, probably to get a glimpse of where they were, not seeming to notice the obvious tension between the two man before turning the attention back to her brother again. How the hell will she do this? How does she act around a person who has been through more that you will ever be? Only a ghost of someone she used to know before, a completely different Elena.

….

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The ancient looking crystal bottle slipped from Alaric grasp as he stately turned around, the clanking sound of it hitting the one of the similarly luxurious glasses filling the room. "Just drinking a glass of this stuff is going to kill you." The vampire smirked coldly, clearly satisfied with what he had caused, taking the bottle and filling what looked almost like a small jug with its content.

"Well, you never know it might be worth it," the teacher smiled, pouring not more than an inch of the drink to himself. "I haven't seen a glass of a fine looking bourbon for a long time."

A short, controlled laughter flew from the vampire's lips, as he threw himself on the red velvet couch, motioning Alaric to do so at one of the armchairs in front of him as well. "More like moonshine. You never knew what they put in the mix in the 1930's, no matter how trusted your supplier was."

Alaric's eyebrows rose at the information. "So what's the occasion?"

The vampire's expression darkened instantly, turning into a growl while his eyes bored into him with annoyance as he raised his glass towards his lips. "Does there have to be one? Or is there a rule now that prevents a man to drink when he feels like it?"

"That is not how you wanted things to go down." It was more than obvious from the way the vampire was acting as he scanned him with a scowl, before answering with a snort.

"This is not how any of us wanted the things to go down." The man sitting in front of him drained the glass, before continuing. "We wouldn't be having this conversation right now if they would. I would have helped the girl as much as I could, before you would have snatched her from me and got her out. You would never be forced to spend a night at the house of a vampire or even talk to one."

"Maybe." Alaric frowned. "It could have been worse, thought. With everything going on we should just be happy that things played out as they did."

"I wish they hadn't. That we wouldn't ever meet, that someone else would get assigned to her, stuck to the rules, ran tests and do whatever, until you would have your master plan crafted and reunited her with her family. Or that the accident wouldn't even happen. It would be best for all of us." The teacher's eyes shot to the vampires as the weight of his words finally hit him, for a second rewarded by the sight of an emotion swirling into the bright blue debts, before disappearing. A sight that he, despite the open mind he tried so hard to keep, never thought he would witness, before the vampire's head snapped towards the top of the stairs, breaking their eye-contact and not even a second later Alaric could hear the doors upstairs closing, glancing there himself and being surprised by Elena cautiously making her way into the living room, probably in hope that she didn't disturb their conversation, a pair of snow white wings gently flapping on her back.

For the way he imagined her time in the centre was like she certainly looked good, not a scratch on her arms and her hair falling in waves down her shoulders, well –slept, not too skinny, her steps soft, but determined as she sat herself on the couch next to the vampire, the only thing giving away that she was trying to ease her brother's breakdown for the last two hours her tired expression and her almost invisibly shaking hands.

"Are you all right?" The vampire asked, his voice soft, worried, so different from when he was speaking to him, his arm sneaking behind the girl to rub her back comfortingly.

"I am fine." Her response was immediate, almost automatic, causing a sad smile to appear on the vampire's lips.

"Do you want me to get you a glass of water? It really does help, you know."

The girl thanked him, nodding as he headed towards the kitchen, leaving them alone. Elena's attention instantly turned to him as she smiled at him, even though the shadow of worries was still clear on her face.

"So… Long-time no see?"

"Quite a while." Alaric smiled. "It is good to see you, Elena."

"Nice to see you too, professor Saltzman," she replied, just as the vampire set his foot back through the doorway. She took big, slow gulps as she drank, the expression changing with every one of them, softening, loosening, relaxing, like the water would actually be able to just wash the things that troubled her mind away. The teacher couldn't help but notice how their legs were brushing against each other, their gazes meeting and how his hand found the small of her back without hesitation when she leaned her head against his shoulder, her heavy eyelids closing. During the whole conversation he was looking for a sign, just a small giveaway maybe, that the girl was acting, hiding her fear in hope for a better outcome, yet he couldn't seemed to have found it, only now realising why. There weren't any signs, or giveaways or hidden emotions. This is how they were, relaxed, open, casual. The simple motions they used while talking to each other naturally and the only thing he could think of was that the next day just became even more interesting than he thought it might be.

* * *

**Hey petrovaaa :)**

**Wow, a dentist in the making? That's awesome! I just finished my second year at high school so college is only two years away for me now. I am not really sure what I want to study yet, though and am trying to get as much information as I can get about the schools and professions that might suit me. Thank you so much for your understanding as well as your wonderful compliments about the chapter, your love for story means so much to me. Congratulations on finishing your school year whit what (regarding how hard you have been working) I am sure was an amazing result. Now enjoy your winter break as much as you can, OK? You most definitely deserved it. :) :)**

**Love you,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**Hi sondrex76 :)**

**Thank you, I am so glad to be back too! :D Jeremy did learn about Elena having wings already, first through all of the hearsays and then when Lynn mentioned it when she told the group about what was written in the data about the accident she was meant to falsify at her job. You guessed wrong with the "hunters" taking Elena to their base for now, as Damon and Ethan came to the agreement that she can stay in his house until they talk to her, but send Alaric with them just to make sure they stay there and to feel Damon out a bit, if you know what I mean. Their talk with Elena, however will take place in the upcoming chapter and I guess you will have to see what will happen then…**

**Much love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**Dear** **jairem,**

**Thank you! Yes, they have bonded indeed. You will have to wait a chapter or two to find out what Jeremy's and Jenna's reaction to her bond with him will be thought, sorry. **

**Love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**Dear vladelena,**

**I am glad you like the story and that you equally enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry about the story ending any time soon; there is still a long way ahead of it. Thank **_**you**_** for reading! :)**

**With love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**Dear delenalu,**

**Hi there, thank you for your awesome reviews! The amount of passion you have for this story almost threw me from my chair! I love it! The moment of light as you called it will certainly make its appearance in this story again, just not quite yet. Your English is amazing by the way! I really hope that I reach your stage of vocabulary knowledge one day.**

**With love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**A special thank you also goes to all of the guest reviewers.**

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Your opinions are always welcome here. Click the review button to let me know what you think. :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi guys :) **

**So your wait is over, but so are my summer holydays. The first day of school is tomorrow and you all know what that means. Lots of studying and quite a bit less time to write. I will try my best to update as frequently as possible, that I can promise you, yet I can't say exactly how long it will take for me to write and edit chapters. (**I will keep you updated on on which stage of the process I am on my tumblr page for this story. It's :/ agirlthatdarestodream . tumblr . com – without the spaces. If you ever want to ask me anything you can do it there.**) My grades this year also provide me with points I need to go to the university I want to go to so wish me luck I guess. **

**But anyway let's focus on the chapter. It is the longest one I have written yet! :) I don't want to spoil anything for you this time so I will just let you go to see what happens for yourself. I hope you enjoy while doing so, **

**love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.**

**A full line _ means that we jumped to the POV of a person who is elsewhere than the person we were reading trough before, but what he or she is doing is happening at the same time, parallel with what is happening to the person we were accompanying before. Or are reading the same persons POV than before but he is in another place and there was a time jump from what we were reading before and what we are reading now.**

**The parts of the story that are written **_like this_** are flashbacks.**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

It was laughter that awoke her, a loud, carefree hymn of happiness making its way from the kitchen on the lower floor, and painting a smile on her face. Her brother's laugh. It seemed like she hasn't heard it in years. For the whole time that she was locked in the centre this was what she missed the most, giving her the much needed will to crawl out from under the warm covers Damon must have so thoughtfully wrapped her in last night.

It has become almost like their little ritual, their night time routine. After the nightmares became impossible to hide, Damon started to stay at her side after calming her down, until the sleep once again silenced her senses, no matter how many times the clock had to tick before that happened. She came to him herself before even trying to close her eyes, eventually, whether he was sitting on the couch drinking or reading a book in the garden, illuminated by the moonlight; his arms around her never failed in making her feel safe. The conversations he started were calming, protecting her from dark thoughts like a shield and - if she stayed still long enough - she was always able to feel his lips press to her temple, reminding her that the fear of giving too much of herself to him the first time she did this was unjustified. She could feel his care for her in that moments undulating, stretching and spreading to extends she never before knew were possible.

She got on her feet now, the dark coloured parquet cool beneath her feet as she tiptoed to the window and drew back the curtains to release the sun shining through the nearby treetop, stretched her wings and heading downstairs to see what all that joyful sounds were about.

...

The kitchen was so full of homeliness; she couldn't help herself not to lean against the doorframe for a second and let the whole scene in front of her set in. The curtains were drawn back, letting the still sleepy morning sunbeams to wrap the room in their glow, making the metal sink and the fridge almost impossible to look at, but that wasn't a problem at all in comparison to the stove, hidden behind the thick black smoke, which Jenna tried to disperse her way to with what looked like a wet kitchen rag while grumping lowly. Thought she would normally giggle at the sight like that, her expression remained serious. Something felt wrong.

It was Jeremy who distracted her. Watching the scene with amusement while pouring himself a cup of coffee at the kitchen table, he glanced in Elena's direction, placing the full cup on the setting next to him with a smile, just like she remembered him doing at home. He motioned for her to take a seat, leaning towards her as soon as she did so and half smiled, reminding her of one of their funniest childhood memories in a whisper, like he was telling her a secret, causing her to lighten up immediately.

"She was determined to make pancakes when I came downstairs, but I somehow managed to convince her that it wouldn't be a good idea, regarding what happened the last time. I think she is trying to make an omelette now. This is the third one of yours that she had burned completely."

"Well, I am glad I have a brother who is brave enough to eat his own without complaining, to test if I will get food poisoning or not before I even eat the first piece." She bumped her shoulder into his lightly and he smiled. "Besides, you really do deserve an award for surviving under these circumstances for so long. I don't think anyone could ever handle it and yet here you are, smiling."

Jeremy laughed. "Now you are seriously over the top."

"Yeah? What did you eat then? Frozen pizza?"

"And burgers. Chinese and other takeout a few times…" he said dreamily, then turned serious again. "It was mostly about the coffee in the mornings, thought."

"Always has been." Elena smiled, sipping the hot liquid when their aunt turned around and noticed her, looking kind of flushed.

She could feel it from the moment she stepped into the kitchen, yet it was in that moment when it hit her what the feeling actually was. The tension was thick, suffocating, giving her a feeling that she has to be cautious in everything she does, everything she says, it's source impossible to determine like everything in the room was somehow spying on her, limiting her, preparing her for something bigger. A change she didn't want, the one she secretly feared and the one that was staring in her eyes now.

Jenna's voice was strange and nothing like the carefree blubbering that she was known for before. A worried undertone was present in everything she said, the words sliding slowly from her tongue, carefully, heavily, like she overthought every single one of them as she addressed her, even if the thing she was talking about was just an omelette. It seemed like she kept her eyes on steams from all the short worried glances to long investigating stares, trying to pick up on everything her niece did that would maybe seem wrong - despite all of the time Elena spent convincing her that she was fine the other night. And she realized something now. Her parents weren't the only family she has lost the night their car slided off that bridge. Because if there was nothing she could do to convince Jenna to trust her and believe what she was saying, she has lost her sister too.

….

"The girl is fragile. I don't want you to even try to fool yourself by thinking you know how she feels, because you don't. We don't know what happened and even if we did, we wouldn't know what consequences the events of the last two months have left on her. And now, right after she was reunited with her family she will be forced to speak to relatively unknown people in order to figure out what to do in the future so that she won't be found by the authorities again or killed by some psychopath right away. We need to be considerate, whatever happens." Ethan voice echoed through the telephone pressed against Alaric's ear, mixing with the sound of running water. Sitting on a closed toilette seat in a huge, astonishingly modernly furnished and decorated locked bathroom, at the same time filling an enormous bathtub, running a shower-head and keeping the sink tap open. He could genuinely admit to himself that this was the most awkward he has ever felt.

One of the original four called him less than ten minutes ago, to, even thought he was currently located in a mansion owned by a vampire, participate in the important and compulsory "before we talk with Elena" meeting. Not that he was complaining, but the security measures in order to be able to do so without fearing that a pair of highly sensitive ears might be listening were kind of extreme. Not as extreme as his surprise as he learned that Bill was coming, thought. He knew Elena when she was just a toddler, since her and Caroline were friends even then, and apparently stating that was enough to convince Ethan to change his mind about who will represent the group along with the two of them later today. He asked Jonas, who at first was meant to be there, to look through a pile of old books his family managed to keep hidden and try to find a way to tell if the girl really was what they were looking for. It proved to be a tricky task, doing so without casting a spell he wasn't really capable of casting and causing their whole plan to collapse as the government witches would come knocking on their door. He will be able to feel if she has any magic inside of her, he said, but won't be able to really tell if it is the kind they are looking for without help. And when himself, otherwise completely focused on the conversation going on at the other side of the line, much too late realised that the reason splashing sounds have increased was the full bathtub while the tap was still running and that the plug used to cower the drain was stuck, the word "help" was all he could think about.

...

The awe on his friends' faces as they stepped into the vampire's house must have resembled his expression as he first set his foot through the carefully lacquered mahogany door and see the spacious, ancient looking living room. Maybe his was worse, thought. Regarding the fact that he was a rather ardent historian and everything, every single thing he set his eyes on in the room had a significant historic value. The wardrobes, tapestries, the small coffee-table standing in front of the couch, even the without a doubt hand weaved rug which shielded the floor from charcoal, hot pieces of wood and sparks, daughters of the flames dancing in an open fireplace which was lit, even though the summer sun which was warming up the word outside was shining through two enormous, with the stained glass decorated windows.

"Well, this place certainly didn't age well." Bills embittered voice broke the silence, causing both the teacher and Alaric to flinch out of their admiration. "Seriously, it smells like someone died and rotted here over and over again."

"I think you meant to say it smells like dust." Ethan let his carefully neutral expression to fall just for long enough to fire a correction back at him, the tone of disapprovement in his voice was mixed with a hint of warning that was clear to both Bill and the teacher standing next to him. They came here to do a job and outbursts like that will not be tolerated.

"It's beautiful." Alaric commented to save Ethan from a pair of eyes, full of anger boring into his skull. "I still feel like I woke in a sleep-in museum, besides the booze I managed to get a gulp down of yesterday was from the 1930's!"

The information seemed to be shocking enough that the silver haired's mouth (zazevati) for the words he never had a chance to mouth, his only a moment ago tired looking orbs suddenly filling with excitement. Alaric has first seen him like this when he woke up to stones being thrown into his window, only to find both Eth and Nate standing on his family's porch, holding the beer can that Bill, known as the coolest guy in the group due to actions like this, was somehow able to sneak from his father's bar without being noticed and slid it from his first floor bedroom down to them through the gutter. They made a plan apparently, to meet in the old Lockwood cellars at exactly two in the morning when there will be no fear of their parent's checking if they are asleep yet, but only had a chance to inform Alaric now.

He could still recall the hype he felt when he was changing and the fear that caused his heart to pump blood through his veins faster than ever as he climbed down the rusty fire stairs, praying nobody in the house heard their creeks. He remembered laughing at the silly comments Nate was making as they ran through the completely empty town, wrapped in darkness, the road glistening beneath their feet while tiny droplets continued to splash his calves as an evidence of the last afternoon's downpour.

To say this was their first time drinking something that held even a drop of alcohol was needless, since the teacher was to this day able to remember their expressions vividly, as well as how disgusting the liquid burned on his tongue. It seemed like Ethan's soul brother would never let him forget how he spiked it. At the time, even if he trusted his friends not to tell anyone, someone from school figuring out what has happened and then starting a rumour was his only fear. Only worry. He swore on his barely still working Gameboy that day that he won't ever tilt a can, or a glass or whatever was filled with content like that ever again, and actually stuck with it for years.

But once the war started, and he was for the first time ever introduced to a thing called loss, everything changed. There came a time when they all had to grow up. Fast. And to be honest- at that point, nothing was worth more than forgetting at night, not how the alcohol tasted, not feeling like a piece of shit in the morning and not even the stupid toy that he kept as his almost sacred reminder of the better times.

"Can't we speed this up a little?" Bill jumped in and awoke the teacher from his thoughts before Ethan could even say a word. "I mean I would rather go and talk to the girl than stand here and wait for that monster to kill us."

"Kill you? I have heard that it is rude to even snack on guests." It only took a whoosh of air for the vampire to find himself in front of them and nod to the pair he was already familiar with before offering his hand to their grumpy friend who's only reaction that sold him out on knowing that somebody is standing in front of him was a look of pure disgust, dangling of his features.

"It seems, though, that even proprieties were made to be broken at some point." The vampire lowered his hand. "I believe Elena is in the kitchen at the moment, so if one of you wants to go get her I can show the other two where the boardroom and the minibar are."

...

She knew what was coming as soon as the man who was once her history teacher stepped into the room, a serious expression on his face; his tongue full of words she ignored, turning to her brother instead. She didn't need to hear them anyway. She knew this was it, a conversation she was preparing herself for since she learned that the group has gained two people who she loved the most and to whom she was now trying to instil a feeling of calmness, strength, anything that would reassure them that she is able to do this alone, that she wants to do this alone, even if the solid reason to do so was to prove herself that she could.

She knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn't bring herself to take Damon seriously when she heard the world strong connected to her name in sweet sentences he whispered to her sometimes, when, as her worries became too heavy for her own mind to carry she came to share them with him, staring into his eyes intently when he told her a pained thought of his own, until he let her see him completely. Letting her read a part of his soul right from his bright blue iris and unknowingly to him, for a short moment made her forget even why what was troubling her as she came into the room at the first place. She couldn't believe in what he said even after seeing he did, telling her lies for which he believed with all of his heart that were truths. She never told him he did that, though, because truthfully sometimes his lie was all she needed. She was the only one to know she wasn't as strong as he portrayed her, she was the only one who knew that it was in the centre where she reached the lowest point in her life yet. She broke at the time she should have fought most. Tears drew lines down her cheeks when she should have locked herself into her mind and try to come up with a plan of some sort, she let the fear hold her still every time she set foot into the aggressively bright hallway instead of fighting for her freedom, fighting a chance to see the doe eyes of her brother that she were staring at her the moment, lifting her spirit, supporting her, understanding immediately why she needed to do this her way: it was a fight she didn't intend to loose, a test she had no intention on failing. She had to prove herself that she is in control of herself now, not fear, not panic, not a yelling vampire she had known Damon back then as dressed into a white robe and not even the people waiting to talk to her. She was Elena Gilbert and all of her life strings were in her hands now. The freedom seemed to have finally reached her soul too.

Jenna, taking a huge breath to secure the sentence she wanted to utter so that it would hold the highest amount of power possible was what brought Elena from her thoughts and forced her to start coming up with a quick but effective response. Her aunt's demand to escort her still wasn't mouthed when Mr. Saltzman saved her with only one long look of reassurance send into the other adult's way and granted them both a much needed permission to head towards the boardroom without an incident. It really wasn't what Elena needed, her mind was already so full of thoughts that she couldn't help herself but wish for Damon.  
…..

She was quiet as she walked behind him, the only thing letting him know she was there an almost unheard sound of her feet landing against the wooden floor. It disappeared and caused him to turn around every time they walked over one of the expensive and ancient looking carpets, giving him a moment to look at her expression. Determination was all she showed; determination and power, hiding every other emotion behind the walls of her mind. Fear, nervousness, confusion maybe, were all well-guarded, unknowingly making him reconsider if doing this tonight really was a good idea. But then again, what other choice did they have? They didn't have time to wait until she recovers from the shock she experienced completely, even if their hearts ached because of forcing this on her. He knew his did.

The way she glanced at him for reassurance as his hand reached the door handle was heart-breaking.

…

Elena would give everything, everything to figure out what was going on in the teacher's mind at that moment. Anything to learn what exactly the conversation she is going to be a part of will be about, so that she could prepare her answers in advance. She knew the important questions she needed to ask by heart now, and was completely aware that the list is going to lengthen as the conversation continue. But her quest to find the right response to every situation she could possibly imagine was far from over yet when Mr. Saltzman slid the door open and she was welcomed by the face she expected to see the least.

Caroline's father stood proudly next to the grey haired man who was speaking at their meeting in the forest, his eyes now slightly sunken in and surrounded by wrinkles stopped widening in awe, jumped into something that could be interpreted as relief to someone who didn't know him and then became expressionless again before she could force enough hatred into her own to be able to say what came into her mind as she saw him with satisfying effect which was stopped by the old man's strong voice before she could even open her mouth, and caused her to shift her attention towards him.

"Hello Elena." He offered her his hand. "My name is Ethan Walton, and I came to talk to you again as a representator of our group. We have been fighting for human rights since the last war, trying to change the system. I assume you already know Bill Forbes and Alaric Saltzman from school?"

She nodded, not even glancing at the direction of the first mentioned.

"Great. That means we can begin." He reached into his pocked, tinkering around it for a while before pulling out a small device, turned it on and waited until the tiny green lightbulb started shining with a click, mentioning her to sit down as he did so, both the teacher and her best friend's father following.

"We know you have been through a lot, Elena," her history professor was first to break the momentarily silence. "How have you been doing lately?"

"I'm fine, thank you. For everything really I would probably never find my family again if you haven't contacted me."

"I am sure they would have found a way to get to you by themselves, your brother is quite persistent."

"Maybe." She said, even if she was well aware that the last statement was nothing but a doubtfully truthful, unimportant rumbling. Her eyes wondered to the device lying on the table now. "What is this for?"

"Protection. The high pitched cheeping it plays prevents anyone with the capability of supernatural hearing of catching even a word of what is said here. We can talk freely."

The old man's words seemed more frightening than assuring to her, but it looked like he was only able to interpret her reaction as something else when he continued, a compassionate look on his face.

"I am sorry. I know this must be a bit… uncomfortable for you. But trust me, we wouldn't rush you into this if we weren't in such a hurry. We are. We really are."

"You need me for something." It wasn't a question.

"We do. And I will explain you everything you need to know for now, which I hope will be enough for you. Many lives are at the cube and we haven't really decided yet how much you need to know about and when."

"Was it the group, or you who haven't decided yet?"

"The group. It's a democratic one. We talk about everything before deciding what our next move is going to be."

"And if I agree to help you with whatever you need me for, I will be treated like one of the members?"

"Of course." Alaric was who answered her now. "We never thought about it otherwise. Your voice in that case would be as heard as mine. There is an agreement between our lines that if one is being ignored, he can exit the group immediately, preferably with whoever was in charge at the time that this happened."

"I have nothing but your word anyway. Now tell me, what is this all about?"

"I am sure you must have heard the stories," Ethan spoke again. "When you were a child if not later again, about the angels of peace, the keepers of power so strong and so deep it was supposed to be able to clean the hatred and lust for power from the minds of thousands, until they would reconcile, joined in a new, free and healthy neighbourly coexistence. They are mostly just lies people tell to their children to get them to sleep and keep them out of trouble, since the whole point of the story is to wait and not resist until our saviour comes. But we have sources reliable enough to know that not everything I just told you is a myth. We believe you have power, Elena, not one that would be able to plant peace and provide wealth for the humans so easily, but magic none the less."

"And the vampires?"

"They would be free too. Free from the Michelsons and their "human is just a blood bag" propaganda. We would free their minds, and we would be equal, living in peace. The power we believe you possess would, with a little guidance, be able to break the bond every vampire has with the original and destroy the ancient magic that bound their death with theirs, causing the ones that do not support what's going on to be able to state their accusations freely as the new president will take Michelson's place and with some help they will be able to convince the others that changes are necessary. I know it might sound a bit naïve now, but believe me when I say that we know for a plan much bigger that all of us, with which we could pull this off. But there are too many lives that could be in danger if I say more without you deciding to accept the deal we prepared for you."

"A deal which would encompass what exactly?"

"For us to guarantee you the safest way to the witches who know the spell they need to release the power from you and guide it to do what it must. For you to participate in releasing this power in any way that you can. That is all. Would you be okay with that?"

Elena was able to feel the weight of her decision falling on her shoulders before she even opened her mouth, knowing well enough that there was no going back now, yet her voice was just as strong as before if not more. "I…"

…

She looked so peaceful beside him he would have thought she was sleeping if it wasn't for his supernatural hearing telling him that her heartbeat hasn't slowed down enough yet. Her head on his lap, her messy hair loose for him to play with and smooth while he tried to keep his concentration on the book he was reading almost desperately while the words swam in front of his eyes and he found himself again and again at the start of the same paragraph, thinking of the conversation they shared before.

"_Where were you the whole day?" The girl's head was heavy on his shoulder, her voice cutting through the silence of his room, making him forget how painfully the headboard of his bed was digging into his back. _

"_Here, mostly, I… I came to greet the men when they came, but returned soon after. I kind of… I couldn't stand them looking at me like I am doing god knows what to you, especially knowing that whatever I said about the matter would only make it worse. I hate it that they would think that. I hate it that they have the reason to."_

"_I am sorry…I should have known…" The sadness was clear in her voice, her compassion for him strong, yet he couldn't bring himself to brush off the shadow of relief she tried to hide her answer mixing with nervousness. Was she afraid he wasn't around because he didn't want to see her? But why was the fear still there then?_

"_It is fine, really. I didn't expect them to act differently, thought the new guy really was acting like a pig."_

"_That's because he is one." She surprised him with her words, suddenly laced with anger as she lifted her face to look at him, flames dancing in her eyes._

"_You knew him before?" He asked with disbelief. What was this gang? A whole bunch of her Mystic Falls neighbours?_

"_He was my best friend's father." Great, first it was the history teacher and now this. "Wait. Was?"_

"_She doesn't call him that anymore. Doesn't want to see him at all, in fact, since he ruined her life when he left her and her mom when she was eight and haven't returned until she was eleven, then declaring that he still wants to have a good relationship with her, even if he doesn't love her mum anymore. She basically threw him out and has been rejecting his calls ever since."_

"_And you hate him because she hates him?"_

"_I hate him because he is a cheating douchebag and a coward who pretended to be in love with someone out of fear that he would be judged if he showed anyone who he really loved, hurting both his child and the woman who he made his wife in the process."_

_Damon raised his eyebrows. "You are basically trying to tell me he married a girl, created a family with her, then told her he was gay, dumped her and left for three years without telling anyone where he was heading?"_

"_I told you he was a coward. He could have had everything he wanted, but instead decided to become a manipulative ass ruining other people's lives." She paused for a moment. "Sometimes I think that I could almost feel sad for him if it wasn't for Caroline."_

"_Of course you would." He tried to sustain a laugh with kissing her forehead. She was just too good. Even when she clearly hated someone she couldn't stop herself from wishing they would have chosen differently, allow themselves to be who they truly were and be happy._

"_Anyway, he and the others left a few hours ago, said they had a few things to talk about with other members before tomorrow, so it's just us now," she said, and he was humbled to hear that she added him to the list of her loved ones._

"_So I heard." He smiled, lowering his voice as he saw her eyes getting heavy and brushing her hair to the side before watching her rest her head onto his lap, before laying one of his hands onto her shoulder._

It was the sweetest torture, not knowing how many moments like this one he will be able to share with her, before she will have to leave. Making him cherish every one of them more than he ever had before, not once allowing himself to take them for granted. And when he looked at her slowly drifting off in his arms, he couldn't think of a pain more hurtful yet amazingly beautiful than the one he was feeling now, because despite all, he never wanted anything more than for it to last forever if that meant that he would be able to see his angel flying into the dream world like this every night for the rest of the eternity.

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Thank you**, sondrex76! :)**

I think I am just as curious to see what your reaction and the reactions other readers will be to every one of the upcoming chapters. I have some big and vital things planned… ;)

Sending you much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

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Hi again,** delenalu! :)**

Thank you for your wishes; I really did enjoy my vacation! Both the time I spend at the seaside and ten days in our family's weekend house were awesome, although I will say that I probably missed writing this story as much as you missed me updating it. I am glad you liked the previous chapter even thought it was short. Both Alaric's and Jenna's views are eccentral for the story to evolve the way I want it to and much too fun to write from me to be able to leave out. For Damon and Elena's relationship, thought all I can say is that it certainly will evolve at some point, but with the whole "Elena making a deal with the group" thing happening and the fear of their quite certain goodbye the time might not be right for them yet. It will happen one day, and the day I publish the chapter that will hold their realisations of love for one another will be one of the happiest days ever for me too. :)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

P.S: You are right. Responding to reviews like that does take quite a while, but being able to have a conversation with you like this is so worth it. You are, as well as everyone else that wrote a review to my story so sweet I wouldn't want to spend the time it takes for me to answer you in any other way. 3

* * *

Hello there** jairem :) **

I do too! I loved writing Alaric's views on them in the previous chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one.

Much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

* * *

Dear** Sorrybout'ya.**

Thank you! I will try. :)

Until then,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

* * *

Hi** vladelena,**

First of all thank you for loving this story! And second… I know right? It really scared me to write this chapter at first because of this at first. I really wanted the start of this with changes filled part of the story to be perfect. And even thought I can't say it is, since my writing skills still have to improve a lot to reach that point (if they ever will) I really am proud of how it all turned out and can only hope you like it as much as I do. ;)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

* * *

**I am sending much love to all guest reviewers as well. :) **If you want me to respond to your review in the next chapter just** make up a name for yourself **before posting it so I will know who to write to. ;)

What do you think about this chapter? Do you have any speculations on what's going to happen next? Do you have any questions?

Click the review button or visit me on tumblr as **agirlthatdarestodream. **I will also use my tumblr to tell you guys how far in the process of writing the next chapter I am and when it is going to be updated. :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey everyone ;) **

**The new chapter is here! I had a LOT of trouble with writing this one, rewriting the whole thing two times at least because I wasn't happy with it, so I can only hope you will find it okay now.**

**I love you guys, this one is for you,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

It seemed like the world stopped for a moment, that the seconds Damon's mind usually took to comprehend someone's words turned to hours and his eyes were slow in finding hers. His body was frozen in time, its control taken from his rational mind and left for his emotions to play with. He was shaking, stuttering, sweating like a fire has just been lit inside of him and its flames were now licking his veins, warming his blood to the point of his cheeks burning, which hasn't happened in decades. His heart was hurting, his eyes watering, it hurt him to think. The fire was spreading, its sparks dancing, jumping, its smoke smothering the things he himself was never able to. Darkness, anger, loss disappearing quicker than he was able to close his eyes. Joy destroyed them, ate them, straightened them with the ground, now urging him, encouraging him to move, telling him that he was strong, that the shock was helpless now, helpless against the fire that took over his heart and dictated its rhythm.

In two steps he was next to her, and when his hands found her waist he could have sworn she wasn't the only one flying.

….

Alaric's eyes turned from the scene which was happening in front of him quickly, the teacher convincing himself that he was doing this in a rush to see the other's reactions and not to be able to get rid of the horrible taste that suddenly started to acerb his mouth. This was him, the vampire was him a decade ago, there was no other way to put it. He had just gotten everything he has been hoping for, he has gotten her and although the caution that settled in his heart the moment he has seen Elena and Damon together for the first time hasn't left him yet, he would be lying if he said that it hasn't decreased. How could it not, when he has seen the expressions that were now lingering on their faces? When his eyes had once been just as full of joy as the vampire's were in this moment? There was no way he was using her, no way that what they were all seeing now wasn't real. He loves her, the creature for which they weren't even sure can feel loves her… And they have been wrong.

The teacher's eyes met Ethan's first, the lack of shock in them surprising to Alaric until he was able to see the deep ocean of pain and longing that overflowed them, blurring his friend's vision. He was staring at the smiling couple dreamily like he wasn't even be able to see what was happening in front of him, and Alaric knew that his most sacred memories or the most beautiful scenarios he could imagine must be playing in his mind. His hart clenched at the sight of the love-struck expression on Ethan's face. He knew it was stupid and wrong, since nor himself nor his friend had any power over the things that happened in the past, his conscience gnawing at him in the moments that it happened, yet he couldn't seem to be able to stop it. The feeling appeared every time Ethan returned from one of his visits. He has been too selfless to let himself drag her into danger and get everything he has ever wanted, saying that she didn't deserve to live like this, that she shouldn't have to be scared for her life on daily basis, that it would be too risky and that he would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to her. Years have passed since he tried to stop all contact, but failed miserably. She meant the word to him, despite never being his, sleeping in the arms of another and carrying children he wasn't a father to. He loved her too much to let the pain stop him from visiting her every other Wednesday, thought, never refusing to drink beer with her husband or babysit their kids, playing with them and loving them like they were his own. He never had her, but at least she was there. She was loved and happy and by any means not sleeping in the coffin at the Mystic fall's cemetery like Alaric's wife was. And he envied him, he envied him even if only for being able to look at her. He envied him so much in these moments, hated that he wasn't strong enough to stop the sickness in his stomach as he realised what he just thought of. They were only moments, yet guilt never failed to hit him a second after he managed to remind himself how much his friend meant to him. It pressed heavily on his chest, accusing him, punishing him and never truly left.

Kylan's face was full of uncertainty, his eyes darting across the room like he was looking for a life saver, while Lynn's loving ones drew lines connecting them to the vampire and the girl who was held in his arms, the amount of awe mixed into her features most definitely worth worrying about. And Jonas, who was standing next to the pair looked completely undisturbed, his expression as blank as a brick wall, like the scene was completely boring or like he somehow managed to figure out what to expect before it actually happened; only moving his hand to stop the outraged Bill who was shooting daggers not just towards the vampire but towards most of them as well, his expression reminding the teacher of just how rough and desperate his voice has sounded the evening before.

"_You can't seriously be considering this, right? Tell me you aren't considering this!" Bills voice echoed through Ethan's weekend house's dark front yard, illuminated by the moonlight as the trio made their was closer to the front door, the lights inside inviting, the shadows that they saw moving across the closed curtains giving Alaric a feeling of coming home._

"_Does it matter?" Ethan's voice sounded tired. "It's out of our hands anyway, my voice is no stronger than yours or theirs are."_

"_Then don't tell them! Do they really need yet another thing on their shoulders, yet another conflict? We can deal with this alone."_

"_Maybe." The old man nodded to the teacher who has already started to search for the keys in his jeans pockets. "But these are not the rules. And we need to learn. We all need to learn how to stay united even when we disagree with things."_

_Their friend's response was cut by the click of the lock, and a second later they were greeted by a predicted, almost frantic dog yelps and the sound of Kylan's voice, laced with worry._

"_We got your message. Is everything Ok? I thought you said you were going to spend the night there."_

"_There have been certain…complications. Is Lynns here with you? And Jonas? "_

_The curls on Ky's head shook when he nodded. "Exchanging stories in the living room."_

"_Great," his mentor gently tapped him on the back before leading the way. "We need to talk."_

…

"_So what? She asked you to acknowledge her rules. Can't we just agree to the rest and let this one slide? The protection of her and her family, letting her have a veto on the things regarding her… I think we can all agree that her wanting to have a reassurance like this would be in place. It doesn't mean we have to let her get all of the points, right?" Luka's voice sounded higher through the speaker of his father's mobile._

"_It's not that easy," Alaric broke the silence for the first time since they sat in the car. "She basically has us against the wall. She said that if we don't meet all of her demands she is not coming."_

"_Oh, come on guys, she is just testing us. What other choice does she have? It's not like she can just stay hiding forever. And the vampire can't help her if he wanted. There are freaking millions offered as a reward for his head!", Kylan ended his thoughts with raised voice._

"_You told her what we need her for, right?" Jonas jumped in mid conversation and turned his attention to Ethan. "What did she say?"_

"_Basically? That we have the same goal, but she would be more than able to reach it herself, or at least flee to Europe if we don't let the vampire come with her."_

"_Well, she is bluffing. There is no way they have a plan reliable enough," Luka continued from where they left off._

"_She is not bluffing. She is ether brainwashed or compelled." Bill sounded like he wouldn't care less in the world, but Alaric who was standing beside him was even without trying able to notice how much his hands were shaking. "The only thing we should be discussing right now is how to get her out of there as safely and as quickly as possible."_

"_And what if she is not?" Lynn challenged him fearlessly. "What is she just wants him with her because he helped her? Because he makes her feel safe?"_

"_He is a monster, not an effing puppy! He did this to her, everything that has happened he did to her and now you are telling me she would be able to just forget that without him compelling her or threatening her? He is using her! The only reason why he forced her to include this was to spy on us, find out what our plan is and then stab us in the back!"_

"_Yeah? And how do you know that?"_

"_You… You haven't seen her. You weren't there to see how scared she looked." Bills voice broke a little. "We have to get her out of there."_

"_What we have to do," Ethan interrupted, saving his friend before Lynn could find another argument, "is vote. In the morning, though. She expects the answer by ten and I think we all need some thinking to do until then. We need her. You know we do. For everything we have ever wanted. For everything any person has ever wanted, she is the key. Let's not forget that." He rose from the couch he was sitting on. "I will see you all here again at eight, tomorrow morning. And I know that this is a tough decision, but I expect you to have your answers ready. Whatever the majority decides will prevail." He looked between Lynn and Bill almost strictly. "There will be no arguments. If we want to succeed, we need to stay connected, whatever happens."_

The sound of the door slamming shut was what brought Alaric back from his thoughts, making him realise that Bill was now nowhere to be seen and that a tense silence has fallen over the room. Everyone was half-trapped in their minds by the never ending replay of what they have just seen happen between the vampire and the girl, while others stared blankly into the door or even carefully observed Ethan to see what his non-existing reaction would be. At last, Jeremy cleared his throat with a line that made Alaric almost want to kiss the ground in front of the kid's shoes. "Hm… Would anyone here want something to drink?"

….

A loud bang was what denounced that the door really did slam shut like Damon intended them to do when he kicked them without bothering to look over his shoulder, his back still sore from forcing them to open by bumping into them, but the pain he felt was distant, like an echo of a long lost memory as his hands rested on the waist of an angel. She was giggling as he twirled her around, her hands locked securely around his neck, her wings flapping gracefully, victoriously until he only supported the shadow of her actual weight. Did she even know how much she meant to him in that moment, with her silky loose hair, her rosy cheeks; marked by the extreme happiness she was feeling and her smile as bright as the sun? She was his joy, his pride, his strength. He had been swayed by her long ago, he knew, but this was different. The fine line he has been balancing on with her was gone now. His heart was ready for her, his soul open. She was everything to him right now, from this moment now on, till always.

And every single glance, every single though that concerned her was suddenly different. She was far from the broken girl he once saw hidden behind the walls she put up in the centre. She was her true self now, free, kind, stubborn, in control. She was magnificent and divine, and all he wanted to do was tell her. Tell her how proud he was, how happy he was, how happy she had made him, how she will never have to be alone again, feel alone again, be sad, hurt, scarred. That he will be right there with her to take it all away, no matter where they were or what was going on, but he knew it wasn't the time yet. That the words themselves would let him down. That what he was feeling was too strong, the emotions running through him too fast, too undefinable to be able express them with the intensity they deserved. And so, all he could do was look into the depths of those gorgeous pools of brown that mirrored her soul for everyone to see, and hope that she was able to feel them too, watching in awe as she landed slowly, never breaking his gaze. Her scent was welcoming, tempting as she buried her head into his shirt, with her neck too close to his lips for his liking, and yet the urge he expected to fight never came. Her hand was in his hair, her soft breaths warming his chest... And it felt _right_.

…

Playful growling was all he heard, his arms hurting from the force the dog was trying to pull the rope-like toy out of them, its claws drawing lines onto the cold, expensive looking floor he was sitting on. He didn't care, though not when he was, after what felt like a lifetime, finally doing something just to remember how his face felt when he smiled. He had always wanted a dog. Ever since he was a little kid this was what he wished for every birthday, until he was old enough to learn what having a pet really meant. Responsibility. One that he at twelve wasn't sure he could handle, so he and his parents made a deal. If he, after growing up a little, learning about how much time and dedication a dog really needs, figuring out what the best way to train one was and where it would have to sleep still wanted a dog, he would get one at fifteen. Something that would never happen now. It was all gone.

The sound of the toy dropping to the ground was what brought him from his thoughts and his smile widened at the small victory, before realising that the dog hasn't stop growling. Its fur was bristled, its mouth lifted in threat, showing off its extremely sharp and dangerous looking white teeth while foam was forming on its tongue and dripping to the ground. Its eyes were darting around without a pause, filling the boy with fear, panic, even though Max wasn't coming towards him but backing away from him slowly. Carefully, the boy stretched his arm towards the animal to protect himself from the sharp teeth that could come snapping towards his face at any moment, or to calm the animal down, he didn't know; his eyes wide with fascination towards how his body was reacting, flickering to his shaking hand as he wandered just how he would be able to stop the trembles. He quickly realised that he will never find out how to escape the situation this way, his breath stopping in his throat as he became aware just how close the wet black snout has come in these few moments, its owner arching his back to make himself look even bigger, more deadly, more frightening, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Time stopped when Jeremy felt the air moving, the dog's high bark hurting his ears, the drops of its saliva hit his palm and its teeth slammed together.

The pain he expected didn't come, thought, the dog turning around and running to another room without eve shooting him another glance. The boy exhaled loudly, leaning against the wall to come back to his senses, running his still shaking hands over his face. He heard stories about dogs who snapped before, the cases of people in the hospitals because of their own best friends, their best friend that never showed any sign of aggression until the incident. Dogs killing other dogs, killing children... That couldn't have happened to Max, right? He went through his moves from earlier in his mind again. There had to be something that would tell him what started this. His tail was nowhere to be seen. He was scared. He was backing away from him. His eyes were darting, lingered when he looked over his shoulder. Jeremy's heart jumped out of his chest as he turned around in fear, his palms squeezed into fists to protect himself, his body tense until he was able to recognize the face of the person who must have been standing behind his back for a while now.

His sister stood on the other side of the hall the dog has run to, probably on her way to greet their guests, her wings slightly bowed and her gaze sad, her voice quiet as she spoke, distant, everything in it screaming shame. "I... I am sorry… I didn't... I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He smiled warmly at her, letting her know they were fine, even if he had no idea what just happened. He hated seeing this look on her, so not resembling the Elena he knew from before. She had so many things to bear on her shoulders now, and though he trusted in the strength she showed him completely, he would have felt a lot better if she would let him bear at least half of them. It was his fault too. He could have gone with their parents that day, maybe see whatever was on the road that caused the car to spin out of control or help to drag everyone out of the drowning vehicle... do _something._ But he refused to do so then. He remembered how stupid his excuses had been and how awfully ridiculous they sounded now. He was no stranger to guilt.

"Damon said that the animas… That they can sense if... I am sorry... I just … I forgot, I didn't think." She sat down next to him, yet it felt like she was more lost in thoughts that really talking to him, for which Jeremy was extremely grateful as he probably turned three shades paler, his throat closing and his heart suddenly feeling like it had been stabbed. She couldn't have died, did she? She was here, alive, talking to him… There is no way it happened, right? He never really thought about what happened before she was taken into the centre, about what triggered the transformation. It had to be something powerful, he knew. _To drown_. The verb sickened him, his brain already making up scenes to play in his head of how she must have felt if it happened, full of paralysing fear, panic, darkness and he would do anything, anything to stop it. "Damon, huh?" He sounded breathless, even to his own ears, the words he uttered nothing more than a desperate try of forcing himself to think of something else. "Want to tell me what exactly is going on here?

….

Damon. She could feel herself starting to calm at just a mention of his name, his sweet actions from earlier making her heart swell once more. She never saw him like that before; Joyful, playful, innocent. As he, without a worry in his mind, let all of the shields that were usually surrounding his thoughts crumble, he let her, without even realising it, to witness his essence. To see what he would have been like if he had the most perfect of lives. There would be no guilt inside of him: no pain, no hatred, no uncertainty - only love. He was pure in that moment, hopeful, naïve to the extend where it hurt her. It hurt her that he couldn't feel like that at all times, hurt her to know just how much this life has broken him. But then again: Hasn't this happen to her too? He didn't deserve it. No one did. And yet there wasn't a person in the world who was left unmarked. They were all ruined, at least in some ways.

She got it now as she looked at her brother's face-pale, careful, worried-that what he deserved to hear wasn't the truth. Not all of it. She needed him to be okay with what has happened to her and between her and Damon. It was selfish, she knew, but she couldn't lose one of them for the other. She needed both of them at her side. And she learned a while ago now, that loosing one's perception of you hurt just as much as losing both the person's soul and body.

"He… He was my researcher… at the Centre." She could almost feel Jeremy clinging on every hesitant word she slowly let herself form, only converting it into spoken one after it has been turned in her head for thousands of times. She knew for a while that she will have to explain him everything, and really, the part of the story she was talking about now might turn out to be the easiest of them all. "He was impulsive at first, so eager to know the things that I couldn't tell him, the things that I didn't have a clue about. Yelling a lot, to the point where it scared me since I never knew what to expect... But he calmed down after a few days, talking to me with respect, letting me know about anything that concerned me or my research, calling me by my name, doing all the things I never thought I will be able to experience ever again when I found out where I was. He was nice to me, and he was all I had.

I never really thought much about why he was acting the way he was. It didn't matter, it still doesn't. He helped me. More than once. And then left everything just to bring us closer. He brought me books and helped me write to you, gave up on the research all together and let us just talk. I could discuss anything with him, except for his job and the things I didn't want to talk about, like you and Jenna. And I could see it. I could see something in his eyes that gave me hope that this wasn't just because of his own interests anymore. That maybe it was becoming more and more about me... But then he didn't come one day. They told me he was gone. That he was moved to another division and that was the hardest time for me. They took everything good with them and the whole place was nothing but a prison again until he came for me one night, risking his life for me to be free again... And he lost it, just like he knew he would. He knew he would never be accepted again, he knew that he would have to run. Knew that there was no way he would ever be able to come home again. He knew it all, and did it anyway. When I woke up here I was a mess. The accident, what happened to mom and dad... _Everything_ came after me, and I really thought things would never be the same. They wouldn't be, I think, if it wasn't for Damon.

He was there for me through all of it, no matter what the time was or what it was that bothered me. He was always there, doing all the right things: calming me, talking to me about it, making sure I was sleeping and eating, said that everything was my choice now. That he would help me do whatever I wanted to do next. He helped me locate you and Jenna, never wanting anything in return. He looks after me, Jeremy. He protects me, cares about me, he is my friend. And I… I just couldn't stand the idea of leaving him behind. He is my rock. I need him with me."

….

Jeremy blinked at his sister a few times. Her voice was laced with such hope, her eyes with such amount of passion and trust that it scared him. But then, he asked himself, who was he to question her judgement? She was never really wrong about something like this before, and she _told_ him she trusted the vampire with her life. If she was telling the truth, if she really did need him... Then who would he be if he didn't let her have this?

He narrowed his eyes. "He never hurt you?"

…

"No." Elena shook her head, although she knew she wasn't exactly telling the truth. He was the one who operated her and she did get hurt in the process, but that was an accident. He didn't wish for what happened. It was never his intention to harm her in any way, and that was what her brother was asking her about.

…

The boy tilted his head slowly, contemplating his answer before letting the word slip from his tongue.

"Okay."

"Okay?" She sounded confused now.

"Yes. It's fine. I'm fine with it, stop looking so worried." He almost smiled. "I don't know what you were all panicky about, anyway. I mean it, it's not like I could stop you from talking to him if I wanted to. You told me that he respects you and that you trust him that he would never hurt you in any way. You being in danger was all that I worried about, but after what you told me... I am glad you will have him with you. Even if it will take some time for me to show it." He returned the soft squeeze she gave his arm in an unspoken thank you before his face grew serious again. "I want to ask you something, thought, and I want you to know that you don't need to answer my question." He knew he was probably crossing the line asking her this, but he had to know. He needed to know. The uncertainty was killing him. "Are you…" He could hear his voice shaking. "Did you… Did you die?"

…

This was it. The question she was waiting for. The one that could change everything between them, the one she was afraid to answer, although she knew she had to. She owed him that much. He had every right to know what it was that happened to her and her parents when the car fell from that bridge. He was her brother. He deserved to know and he deserved to be told calmly.

"I don't know for sure, don't remember... The only thing I know is that I couldn't breathe and that they were gone before I was… I… I saw them floating…" She had to stop and gather her thoughts, her palms shaking. "I blacked out and woke up like this at the embankment. Damon said it had to happen, that anything else happening wouldn't be strong enough to trigger the transformation, but I wasn't sure earlier. I thought I would have to feel the pain. I didn't. I don't remember feeling it at least. The dog, thought... It seems like that would explain it best." She stopped for a moment, glancing at him to see what his reaction was, yet his face was blank, the only sign that the theme they were talking about was a little harder for them that coming up with lunch ideas the green-like colour on his cheeks. "At the Centre they ran some tests…" She traced off to see if he wanted her to continue, the fear making her heartbeats echo in her head.

Her brother's mouth opened on que, yet he was still expressionless. "What… What did they find out?" He was so pale that she seriously considered taking their conversation closer to the bathroom.

"I am not aging psychically, but I can get hurt or sick. I need Vervain the same way that vampires need blood…. And given what that guy, Ethan said was the truth, I might be holding a whole bunch of power." She smiled at him, desperate to lighten up the mood. "We still can't be sure about that one, thought."

Jeremy didn't seem to catch her endeavours, his face starting to harden as soon as she mentioned the group's leader, his voice as cold as a stone when he spoke, full of anger, protectiveness. "What else did they tell you?"

"Not much. Just that if one of the old stories is true, we could use this magic to break the bond between the originals and other vampires... Create peace. Why? What's wrong?" He was really scaring her now. She thought he trusted this people.

"There is something you need to know about the group, OK? They are not as nice as they are right now when it comes so business. They will lie to you if that will make the outcome better for them, it happened to me before. They are calculating at all times, even when they are acting like your friends. They might be your alleys, and they certainly believe they are good people. They do follow their rules, and they do keep their promises, but you have to be really careful about how they state them. I have been with them for a while now, and you must listen to me. There is nothing as important as their goal to them. Not your life and not their own. Nothing."

"Maybe. But if you think about it… Aren't our goals the same? Isn't what they want exactly what we have always dreamed of? We finally have a chance to actually change things, Jer! This power, my power could _save_ people."

"If what they told you was the truth. Have you even once thought that they could be lying?"

"Why would they lie? I mean, they are risking their lives being here. I will work with them, even if there is nothing more but hope that drives me. If there is even the tiniest bit of possibility that I could change something, I will help them. How could I not? Even if you never gave your blood for them before, you know just as well as I do how it feels to be treated like food. And besides, it's not like we have a real alternative. _They_ have connections, _they _know the right people and they are our best chance not to be killed as soon as we step out of the protection spell's boundaries."

"I know that!" Jeremy raised his voice before shooting her an apologetic look as he saw her tense and lowering it again. "That doesn't mean I like it thought."

"We will be fine." She smiled at him while stroking his arm to calm him. "We have each other now… Right?"

….

The fear was perceptible in her voice, still reminding him that she will need time to adjust to how the thing were now. That he was there and that he didn't care if she had wings or not. He loved her, and so the words were laid on his tongue.

"That, we do."

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**Dear gaudeamusigitur:**

Thank you for the compliments, you are so sweet! I hope you liked the chapter,

Much love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

**Hey, vladelena**

I can't say much about the group or Damon without giving anything away, but I must say that I love writing from various pov's, so that you can see the different theories, fears, hopes and views on the whole situation from both sides. Especially the ones we saw trough Alaric when he remembered the meeting with the group about what Elena said to them. I guess we will see how the whole thing will evolve as well as learn more about their plan in the future… And god I love writing about Ethan, Nate, Max, Kylan and Lynn… they are my babies after all. :)

I literally had a mini freak out when I wrote the delena parts of this chapter so I hope they at least put a smile on your face, XD

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

**Hi delenalu **

I believe I already replied to your last review in the pm once and I am so excited to hear what you will think of this chapter, so write to me soon OK?

I love you, my friend,

AGirlThatDaresToDream :*

**Hello Sorrybout'ya!**

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it has been a long time coming. Have an amazing week!

Much love,

AGirlThatDarestoDream

**Hey jairem**

Regarding what you said in your last review I think this chapter is going to be one of your favourites. I can't wait to hear what you thought of it!

Love you,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

**My thanks also go to both guest reviewers, you guys rock! ;)**

* * *

**My tumblr where I let you know how I am doing with the next chapter is agirlthatdarestodream, and the review button for you to let me know what you thought is right under this sentence. ;)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! **

**I am so sorry this took ages... But I am back! Hope you enjoy this one! **

**Much love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

**P.s: ****This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.**

**The parts of the story that are written **_like this_** are flashbacks.**

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**Chapter 24**

The room he took her to right after he successfully threw away everything he ever knew was mocking him quietly as he sat on its floor, probably resembling a small repented child or a puppy which has been told off. Shame, confusion, offence and fear were making him feel smaller than he had felt in years as his heart raced with frustration of how quickly he managed to turn one of the best days of his life into a disaster. He knew it was pointless while trying to convince himself that nothing that happened downstairs was his fault, her eyes laced with disappointment haunting him in his memory, the fear of what that meant alarming, yet limited by his childish sulking. He was a grown man, he had lived longer than anyone currently breathing in the house and he should be able to decide when he should stop himself. There was no real need for her to react the way she did and he was hurt.

To redirect his thoughts, Damon let his gaze wonder over the room he got to know quite well over the centuries, the one that has seen him vulnerable, seen him mended and that has made the echoes of his past look like nothing but ghosts as he now took in the feel of it.

The windows were open, letting the occasional lazy wind blows play with the white, faded curtains, and the sun to shine right on the spot he was sitting on, making him wish, even if just for a moment, that he could feel its real warmth of his skin again. He spun the ring on one of his fingers subconsciously, before groaning. Was there really nothing he could do without connecting it to the memory he shared with her?

There was an armchair next to her wardrobe with a book on its cushion, the page she stayed on marked with a piece of thread she used to sew buttons on the back of her t-shirts with. The same chair he sat in as she was waking up in this house for the first time. The bed being the same bed he held her in, trying desperately to read while his mind kept bringing him back to the sweet words she said to him before. It wasn't just her room. The whole estate was touched, even in just the smallest of ways, by who she was . By who _he_ was with her.

A man who tries to do good. A man she trusts, even though she knows nothing about. The one who hides his real self from her in fear, the one with secrets she overlooks again and again, not to break his image. The one who never lies to her, but never tells her the whole truth either, the one she saw through today. The one who is still trying hard to convince himself that he will never be able to understand the humans' reaction.

_His whole body was stiff, the movements of his hand holding the fork abrupt, the threatening looks send his way from the other side of the table making it hard for him to maintain the relaxed image he wanted. Elena sat next to him, her leg brushing against his under the table, the only thing allowing him to keep calm while others gossiped, some laughing, some whispering, some sitting comfortably full and some stealing nervous glances towards him- the Bill guy seated across from him or young Kylan, who has been stubbornly staring at his untouched desert for almost fifteen minutes now._

_To say their first official meeting was weird was an understatement. The man's caution on an amount of personal space seemed pathetic to Damon, until Kylan fist set his eyes on Elena who has emerged from the pantry with her aunt, holding a tray of biscuits. The expression on the brown-haired man changed from unreadable to openly and shamelessly wondrous, clearly causing the girl as much distress as annoyance to him. Elena's cheeks reddened under the man's stare, her hand only shaking his for a heartbeat… And yet he wasn't the creepiest of the dudes. The older male with short dark hair and the skin of same colour looked uncomfortably unsurprised by the events that took place that morning, like Elena was nothing but a chess figure; and as he shook her hand, Damon could swear that he heard him whisper some gibberish he has last heard from the mouth of one of the Bennets. Why he did that, the vampire didn't know; but it drove his and Elena's already tithed nerves even higher… And they really didn't need that._

_The warmth in his heart from that morning was still present, increasing every time he glanced the girl's way and took in her happy expression, the only thing giving it away the loss of spark in her doe eyes. She was good at this before, he remembered, but she was becoming a pro in covering up her true feelings. It was the fact that both calmed him and caused him to build his own walls higher. Even though he knew this was necessary, he couldn't stop the pain in his heart every time he saw her do that, wishing that she wouldn't have to become like him, that she could let her soul be free at all times and not have to lock it up more and more, only really letting it see the day while she was with him or alone with her brother. He hated the pride that overflowed him while he came to realizations like these, but didn't try to turn it down completely. Her trust was, after all, his biggest blessing._

_Another enthusiastic question from the blond woman's list of questions about his life, work and abilities he didn't really want to give an answer to was what broke his string of thought, causing him to turn his gaze from Elena while an almost inaudible growl left his mouth, bringing both of the young Gilberts to attention and killing their conversation instantly. The boy still wore the "I don't know what I am supposed to do here" expression that Damon has been successfully hiding through the meal, while Elena's hand slowly fell under the table to squeeze his, her right wing sliding across the back of his shirt unnoticeably. She knew he wasn't good at this, supporting him in ways that made him want to run away with her and hide them in their new found haven of happiness._

_He was almost done with crafting the most meaningless answer he could make up, when the grey haired leader came to his rescue without knowing as he walked back to the table he left seconds ago with two small dried twigs of the toxic plant Damon knew all too well in his hand. Vervain._

_"It's the best that I could do," he stated, giving both of them to the blonde's husband. "Are you sure you don't need a drive?"_

_"Yeah, we are going to his parents afterwards. They will help us if we will need anything." Lynn replied, her voice without a drop of its previous shine, now determined and straight to business. It seemed like Kylan was finally going to open his mouth to let out the words of gratitude, but before he could do so, a loud sound of the chair being dragged from the table caused everyone to stop talking and turn to the scene unfolding in front of them._

_"Where exactly are you going?" Bill, now standing, interrupted the sudden silence. "And what do you need that thing for?"_

_"It's fine." Ethan raised his hands to stop his friend's aggressive tone. "Today is their harvest date. We talked about it yesterday after the meeting, but decided not to tell you all. You had quite a few other things to worry about."_

_Elena's hand squeezed his gently at the words and he couldn't help himself but notice the way Alaric's face lost its smile. Harvest? What the hell were they talking about?_

_"You need to hide it where they would be least expecting to find it," Alaric spoke now. "Like in your socks."_

_"And try not to look too nervous at the check in," Bill's voice has now turned in a steel one, his body tense; and yet, the vampire could still sense a shadow of the man's worry. "You don't want them to be fixed on you before you even get to the blood testing point."_

_So it was the blood gift, Damon thought, a wave of annoyance rushing through him as he scanned their expressions again. Why were they making such of a big deal out of this?_

_"We will be fine." Kylan met Bills look now while joining his hand with his wife's. "But could you take care of Max for us? Just for a little while."_

_Damon finally lost it. "Oh come on! How long are you going to be gone for? Twenty minutes?"_

_"A day and a half, actually." The curly headed man's voice seemed small and the vampire was overflown with the taste of victory._

_"What are you all? Nine? Still afraid of needles?" His words echoed through the silence._

_"Damon." He shook off the hand that Elena has placed on his forearm and stood up._

_"Oh come on, Elena, look at them! They are babies. It is a miracle that they even got as far as they did and we are relying on them to make us vanish?"_

_He left them a few heartbeats, eager to let them comprehend what he just said, yet it seemed like all Bill needed was one, before he leaped toward him, soon held up, but joined by a choir of raging voices. It left him to stand there victoriously for a moment and look over what he has caused, before the sound his name his him like a brick of ice._

_"Damon!" He turned around, suddenly frozen under Elena's stare, anger, determination and disappointment holding him captive before softening into pure heartbreak, her next words sad, but strict. "Leave."_

The memory of her stare itself was what brought him back to reality, to the dust dancing in lazy afternoon sunrays and the cold wall pressed against his back, providing him with an excuse for his shivers. He didn't know if he ever saw a thing as frightening as his perfect image collapsing in her eyes, especially when he knew that left her with nothing. She didn't know him in any other way. He was nice to her when she needed someone to lean on, and he never had the courage to challenge her idea of him as a kind saviour. He cursed under his breath. _He was such a coward._

He wasn't sure how long he was sitting there before he heard her soft footsteps mixed with barely audible creeks of the stairs, causing all his hidden emotions to emerge from the depths of him again. He could feel her eyes on his side as she reached the doorframe, yet didn't turn his head to meet them, silently staring at the nightstand across the room. She sighed when she entered, and he noted her quickened heartbeat, before focusing on the sound of her breading in hope that it would calm his nerves.

She was so close to him he could easily touch her. When he finally slid on the floor next to him, he could feel the alien shadow of the distance between them. He was so used to having her in his arms that not even having their hands brush against each other literally pained him. Maybe even more so while her eyes bored into his soul.

She gave up trying to get him to look at her quite soon, thought, joining him in admiring the side of the room they were facing, surrounded by an uncomfortable silence. It grew at they sat there unmoving, and Damon has just began to imagine it as a big, grisly beast which was, blinded by the lies, greedily devouring their relationship when Elena's lips finally parted.

"I think I was three when I first asked what vampires were," she started, her voice quiet, small. "I kept hearing the word on TV, radio, while my parents talked- it was just everywhere, but I had no idea what it meant... So I asked my mom one day. We were out, shopping for groceries, I think; which wasn't even approximately appropriate, but I didn't know better then. She looked around a bit, then told me they were beings, who look just like people, but aren't similar in truth. That they protect us all and that all mommies and daddies have to do is bring them food ever now and then… And I, of course believed her.

Then I remember, I was just finishing my first class. It was June when the teacher announced that we will have a special guest coming in a few days. I was excited, I think. Curious, but then what he told us was nothing to be excited about. He was a vampire, sent by the government to explain the system to us. Can you believe it? Telling six year olds that they will one day be drained to feed demons? Telling us the truth about where our parents go every six months just after explaining to us how bad the whole world was before, when the vampires were savage? Explaining to us just how they used to feed and telling us that they don't do that anymore, even though we all saw all those animal attacks in the news?"

Damon's eyes met hers now, unable to deny her any longer.

"I… I couldn't sleep for weeks, Damon! I barely talked and ate, never letting anyone out of my sight. I could see my patents dead, feel the pain in my neck every time they turned off the lights. No matter if I was in their embrace, with my dad whispering in my ear that he will never let anyone hurt me, that they can't hurt me if he or mum are here… They told me that yes, sometimes attacks on humans did happen, but rarely; and that the vampires were there to protect us from the minority of those who are crazy. I believed them again. Every word I heard which would soothe me I took for a fact.

I got a new Teddy when they next had to leave and Jenna had to stay up late with me to wait for them to return as we drank one hot chocolate after another. I don't think I have ever been more scared in my life, except maybe in the centre.

When I got a bit older , I cursed them for not telling me sooner, but then learned quickly what the consequences of me saying anything against the system would be for all of us. It took me almost seven years to get it. To really understand what was going on. Why there were so many suicides and attacks that never reached closure, why people kept disappearing without anyone seeing where they went. The whole thing was a lie. The vampires weren't protecting us. They still aren't. They hold ever string in our own government and they leave people to be bled dry, covering for their attackers. The Mikaelsons get rid of any human or vampire who dares to speak out against them; and the only ones who are believed to have survived are the people who fled to Europe, where vampires and humans really do live in harmony, even though I could never imagine how the whole thing there could work until I met you.

At thirteen, I found the only reason while they still let us live. Food. That's all I am, Damon! That's everything every one of us is here, and that's what people have to live with. That they are nothing more than slaughter animals!

I never felt smaller than on my first harvest. The packed rooms, long waiting lines made only to make you feel even shittier than you already do. I was so scared beforehand that I couldn't breathe, the only thing keeping me standing the stories about just how unhappy the vampires got if someone fainted before their turn. And they just sat there with no feelings in their eyes, like robots! I…"

"Why are you telling me all this?" Damon couldn't take it anymore, guilt, shame and sympathy sending tremors through his palms.

"I just... I want you to understand why they act the way they do around you. I don't think I would even be able to speak to a vampire like this if the whole accident didn't happen. The system ruined me, Damon. I hated and feared every single one of you! I tried so hard to convince myself that there are good vampires here too and not just in Europe, but when you live in fear of someone without having any type of normal contact with them, all of that belief in antidiscrimination just fades away… My friends and I… We wanted to fight. Never really got through with it, but still, we talked about not coming to the hospital on our blood -giving day all the time. Talked about starting an uprising, but never had the guts."

She shook her head, running her hands over her face and down her hair.

"I was an idiot back then. If another war broke I would join it in no time, never even considering that the other side would lose people too. That they would feel the same grief as we do if we lost one of our loved ones… There would be no change if we would do so, only death. I get sick every time I think about what we could cause."

She flinched a little when Damon covered her hand with his own to stop it from shaking, his anger now long forgotten. His heart was full of understanding, desperately trying to bring her back to calmness. She sighed, then spoke gently, confidently yet carefully, staring at the wall in front of her.

"What you did today was wrong- "

"I know."

"-they are not weak, but they did wrong to you too. I am not okay with how they kept ignoring you, I need you to know that- and yet, things need to change. To achieve that, you _must_ learn to work together."

He turned his head to roll his eyes, before wincing at the sadness in her eyes when he looked back to her.

"I mean it, Damon. I know we never talked about this, but if I really do posses some sort of power and can change the way humans are treated in a peaceful way, I will…" Something in her eyes broke yet again. "Even if I had to loose someone to do so."

Silence fell between then as he held her stare, the sadness in it overshadowed by determination almost presenting him with a threat. He knew without a doubt that he could hold her to her word. That she would do what she said, if they ever would get stuck in that situation… So he took a breath and made his choice.

...

He looked defeated, when he finally deterred his gaze, like he always knew this was coming, but wanted to avoid it desperately. Her hand was missing his warmth as soon as he pulled his back to rest it on his knees, before he started to speak, his voice distant.

"I was born in 1734. Things were different back then. My father was one of the most successful Italian traders, who made a pact with a British lord and sealed it with a wedding, separating my mother from both her family and her home country and bringing her to his home. She must have been around your age then. Smart, beautiful, fierce; and though I don't think my father ever fell in love with her, there was always a sense of respect and care between them. He would give her the world if he could, just to make her happy: letting her have her freedom around the house, giving in to almost every one of her progressive ideas. And she never seemed to stop showing him just how much that meant to her… I never fooled myself into thinking that their marriage was perfect, but it worked.

As far back as I can remember, I was always in my mother's embrace. She was the one who played with me, fed me and put me to sleep. And though my father was always here somewhere, she was my rock.

I believe I was two, when my grandfather sends us a letter. An offer to extend their business to the New World. My father accepted. I am not sure if he knew then, but my mother just got pregnant with him for the second time. Even if he didn't, he could have delayed the journey for a few months, but he was blinded by the money. Maybe he talked to her and she didn't want to deny him an opportunity this big… Anyway, we left for America a few weeks later.

Already affected by the pregnancy, the journey took the strength out of my mother. She got sick as soon as we arrived. My father was from head to heels in preparing our land for the plantation workers, so I don't think he really knew; but she was getting a bit worse every day… They took me from her about a month before Stefan was supposed to be born and her coughing worsened. My father was out of his mind with worry when he learned. He knew she would never let them do it if it wasn't serious, I think he feared that she wouldn't survive the birth… She did it, though, I don't really know from where she got the power, but my brother was born healthy and she never truly recovered after that night. I was in and out of her care for the next few years, due to her health problems, but those were the best years of my life.

I never saw her too sick. She made sure of that. And Stefan was pretty much brought up by a wet nurse. I was allowed to run outside and play cricket and sleep my afternoon naps in her lap. I would help her bath Stefan and hold him in my arms. Sure, she disappeared in her rooms for a few days sometimes, and I would have to spend them with a nanny, but she was always there again before the end of the week. I grew used to it, didn't give it much thought after the first few times…

In winter of my sixth birthday, though, I haven't seen her for weeks. I saw doctors come and go to our house, but none of them seemed to really know what to do to help. My father even brought one of his workers, a healer well known for miracles, but I think she said it must have already been too late. I never saw him more furious that that day. And… Well, I can't say that he was nice to his workers before; but after that, things must have been horrible. My mother never let me see the plantation while they were working. I don't think she really approved, but she was sick then, so it really didn't matter. My father spent an hour with her every day, and as far as knew he would never have let her know that even his last plan to save her has failed.

They let me to her the next day. She room was full of maids, so we couldn't talk much, but she was… She was just broken, lying there… I know how much she hated it, but her body wouldn't let her get up. She scarred me even more with her saddened look, than with her raspy breathing. I didn't understand why at first, but realised it later that evening… She was giving up."

Damon lowered his head to his hands, so his face was hidden from her, his hands in his hair.

"I went to her that night. Wasn't allowed to, but I did. Scarred my nanny half to death, I am sure, and I could hear my father raging around the house after a few minutes; but she just held me to her after I crawled into her bed. We didn't say much… Only the important things.

When my father found us, I was crying; and I think he wanted to be angry at me for the whole disappearing act, but she didn't let him. She wanted me with them and he let her. I never saw him show any kind of emotion like he did that night again. He kissed her hair, whispered to her while she held he there crying… She stayed strong, thought, told him that she loved him… I fell asleep to her stroking my hair and the sound of her heartbeat. When I woke up it was gone."

He ruffled his hair again, clearing his throat before continuing.

"My father was never the same after that. He was rougher, stricter. He raised Stefan almost by himself. There have always been differences between us, but we got along fine. I don't think father liked it. Maybe I reminded him of her too much. He threw away everything he had of her as soon as the funeral ended, except for the picture hidden in his bedroom drawer. If you could say we had a relationship before, we certainly didn't have it afterwards. We learned to avoid each other, and as long as we didn't really have to talk it was fine.

Stefan and I grew up playing ball games in front of the mansion and running through the bushes nearby. I told him about her when he asked me, and go, did he have a lot of questions. I told him everything that I could remember. I knew she would want me too. And Stefan knew better than to ask father.

The people in the town growing around our land loved us, and by the time I hit twenty, I was at the dance every other night. Nice girls, good vine, we thought that nothing could ruin it for us. And then, a few days after I turned twenty two… My brother went to one of the dances and never returned to his bed. I didn't think much of it. I mean- he was nineteen, and he was a guy, and he went to a party… It wasn't hard to figure that he was somewhere with a girl. What I never expected was to find him that evening with blood on his hands.

He just sat there in the greenery, his head between his knees, blood all over him. I didn't know what happened to him, but I panicked. As soon as I took another step, however, he started to scream that I mustn't come any closer to him. I tried to calm him and get him to tell me what happened; but when he raised his head, I was frozen. There was blood running down his chin, his eyes were bright red, the veins under them pulsating… And yet, he begged me not to run away from him, he begged me to help. He said he doesn't know what happened, said he kept attacking people and he cannot stop, that the sun burned him… He killed two of our friends that night, told me how dangerous he was, and yet I couldn't deny him. Fear has gripped him so hard he was hyperventilating and I knew I couldn't just leave him there, so I took him to our cellar. He begged me to lock him up; he said that he couldn't stop if the thirst came again, that he might hurt me…

I didn't know who to turn to. The town people would say he was a demon who ought to be killed, and I thought that maybe he was, but I couldn't let that happen… I don't really remember how I got there, but I ended up in the plantation and there was a little girl leaning against the tool hut, just staring at me. She couldn't have been more than five and I knew she must have been a child of one of the workers, but she had this strange aura... She looked me straight in the eye and said that she is sorry my brother is dead. I wanted to correct her, but she only shook her head. Said that she knew what I needed… She took me to her mother, the healer who my dad brought to try to save my mother and told her that someone has turned my brother and that they needed to help me. I didn't know what she meant, only that it didn't feel good and overall I was just stunned that she knew this things. Did she see him kill someone? Did she follow us? I didn't have a clue about how she got the information.

Her mother was shocked too, but not for the same reason. She said that she couldn't help me. That Stefan was better off dead, she almost lost it when I told her that he is locked in the cellar… But I managed to convince her to at least tell me what was going on. She told me all about vampires then, how they survive, how you kill them, what weakens them. She gave me Vervain, told me to use it, to spray my brother with it and stake him, or take him outside in the morning, that it was the only way… I didn't buy into that. Didn't listen, told her that she was crazy, that vampires didn't exist … And decided to figure things out on my own.

Stefan was enough himself then to tell me that he was with this girl at a dance and that she bewitched him to come to her place. She was with him, then bit him, fed him her blood and snapped his neck. He said he woke up in the middle of nowhere and attacked the first person he came across, that he couldn't stop himself, that the hunger forced him to, hurt him. The healers story hasn't seem that much of a legend anymore then- especially after I learned that the girl who Stefan was talking about killed her entire family barely two nights ago, drained them all… but her solution was not an option, so I made my own plan.

I told my brother everything I learned And thought he obviously didn't take it well at first, he agreed to help me help him. He drank a glass of Vervain every morning and evening, in order to prevent himself from causing another death. I came to him three times a day, letting him bit me. We didn't know anything back then. He said that he would never hurt me, that could win over the instinct and stop. I didn't even think that we were really only worsening his thirst, teasing it. We were playing with fire, and we didn't even know about it. Stefan got moodier and moodier every day; and yet, I thought nothing if it. So that day came, the fault was as much mine as it was his.

My father sent me out of town to do some work for him. I missed one of Stefan's feeding hours, he got angry, didn't stop. I lost consciousness, but he noticed that too late, and he panicked. He thought he has killed me, so he repeated the same thing that the girl did to him. Every step, just like her. The feeding, blood sharing, snapping the neck… He didn't even think about what I would want. The guilt consumed him.

When I woke up, everything was blurred. My head pounded so hard that it took me a while to understand what happened. You can figure it wasn't a nice realisation. I have seen what transition did to Stefan. I knew I couldn't become something like that. I wanted to die, but he didn't let me. I was only awake for a few minutes before he came into the room again, bringing a girl with him. She wasn't scarred, didn't even try to run while he fed on her… I begged him to stop, not to force this decision on me. But he didn't listen... the hunger rose; it was like fire while I watched them, the smell of blood turning sweet… When he brought her neck to my lips I couldn't stop myself… She was the first one, the first of them to die."

She saw Damon look at her through the corner of his eye, but she didn't tell him to stop. She needed to know this. She needed to know him.

"I felt sick when I finished. She lay there in my lap. Pale, broken, lifeless. I remember I thought she might have someone who loves her. Parents? Husband? Kids? I grew panicky, tried to wake her, even though I know she wouldn't. I didn't want to look at her and yet somehow I couldn't stop myself. She had blue eyes, almost the shade of my mothers and I have killed her… Stefan congratulated me. He has turned them all off to get me to be like him."

"Turned them off?" Elena broke his tale gently, not understanding the concept.

"His emotions. There is almost like a switch for them in the mind of a vampire. You can turn it off. Guarantee yourself that you won't feel what you don't want to… He didn't want to feel the guilt anymore. I didn't even know that was possible back then. He just turned into a monster. I yelled at him that I hate him for what he did to me. That I will never forgive him, yet he just laughed and took off. I left the girl there, covered her with a blanket, but left her face there to punish me. When I closed her eyes she looked like she was just sleeping… I returned to the ground floor to search for our father. I wanted to speak to him, tell him what happened. Tell him why he can't ever see us again. I didn't care that we didn't really talk about anything but business. He deserved that at least. I woke him and he was grumpy. He didn't believe my story, then grew more angry than scarred when I showed him my other face. He blamed me. He said that I got Stefan in trouble, that it was all my fault. I… Didn't know my new strength. I pushed him. He hit his head on the fireplace boarder. I rushed to help him, but… he wasn't breathing. I remembered everything he ever did for me, for Stefan, for my mother and I couldn't live with what I have done... So I turned everything off. My pain, my grief and my conscience. It felt like liberation at the time. I learned all about my abilities and mastered them. I could do whatever, get whatever I wanted. The blood called to me, so I drank. I loved the thrill it gave me. Loved the chaise before the feed, and the taste certainly wasn't one of the downsides. I became a predator, a stalker. If I was too hungry, they died. If they were just a snack, they didn't. I compelled money out of people. I bought a house, so that even during the day I could have company. For sixty six years I partied, slept around and fed from the veins." He snorted. "I thought then I was living in my golden era."

"It was 1830 when I finally encountered someone who managed to stand up to me. I didn't know it at the time, but somewhere along the way I have made a mistake of biting one of their male relatives and was marked as a threat to the Bennet witch coven. I am still not sure if that was standard pressure or just Emily's way to insure our second meeting. Anyway... I was walking down the forest road carelessly when a whole bunch of chanting women managed to knock me out and transport me to their camp. Emily came to me then, talked to me. I didn't recognize her until she told me where she knew me from, but then of course she was over seventy, and only five when I first met her. It was her, the healer's daughter, and she told me I have had enough, that I needed to feel again.

I can't say they were mean, but they did not go easy on me. Somehow, with all the talks with Emily and all the witchy mind stuff they did to me, they managed to get me to turn the switch on again… And it was hell.

All the guilt, every single wrong thing that I did in those years fell on me at once. All the pain that I should have felt. My conscience has never been more merciless. I realized what I have become and I couldn't take it anymore, I just couldn't. I wanted to welcome the sun that day, but Emily already knew what I was up to and how to convince me not to go through with it.

She told me later, when I had learn to control my bloodlust enough that I was free to go outside and was wearing her ring that allowed me to walk beside her during the day, that she already saw it happen. She was a seer, the starter of the magic line, their leader.

When I asked her why she helped me, she told me that I had helped her. When my father died, she and her mother were sold to an old lady without descendants who needed house help. She treated them like family and when she died, they were declared free. She said it was a return favour, said I could stay for however long I would like.

I was finally able to feel like a being again. The people there weren't afraid of me, their power far stronger than my strength, and I could actually be myself with them… My heart, however still didn't give me a break.

Ever since I was a kid, I have always wanted to become a doctor, so that I could cure people like my mother. That wish has, after all those years of causing death, become stronger than ever. I've worked on my self-control every second of the day, starving myself for weeks, allowed myself only a drop of blood every evening and became more and more confident that I wouldn't flip out even if something extremely unexpected happened.

Before I left the witches to go to med school, however, I made a deal with them. Emily said that something big was coming, but she couldn't really see when or what it was, and I knew she was worried. She has got me through so much, and I knew I will never really be able to repay her, but knew that I have to try. I swore to defend her and all her family and was in turn granted a free pass to their land and a favour from them whenever I might need it.

Things weren't the same for me when I rejoined the humans. The tales of vampires we spreading quicker than wildfire, causing fear in those who had learned they are real. Our existence was getting uncovered, the numbers of our race too big, the attacks too frequent, too obvious. I got my degree of the finest level in 1850 and managed to found myself a job in one of the smaller, but highly recommended hospitals. I took as many shifts as I could and was completely successful in controlling myself. I stitched wounds, adjusted bones and when necessary, saved people with drops of my own blood. Only once they were stable, though. I never wanted to risk creating another demon. I think the head of the department knew, but let me work there still.

My miraculous abilities never went unnoticed by the families; and yet, I never thought they would reach the extend I learned they did a year before the war. The tension between the sides has risen drastically in those months, our rooms full of brawl victims and abolitionists.

They brought a man in one day. Cracked ribs, broken arms, bruised kidneys, massive head trauma... I treated him but didn't dare to do anything else… It would be on him from then on if there wasn't for his wife.

To this day, I am still not sure how, but she figured out that I was a vampire, pushed me to the room corner when I came to check on Andrew, and wouldn't let me leave until I cured him… She wasn't afraid of me; more angry, for not helping him enough immediately. I remember thinking her hair colour was the aftermath of fire in her soul. She started to intrigue me as soon as her begging turned into threats. She knew that if she was right, I could kill her in a heartbeat; and yet would rather let that happen than let her husband die. That was Emma for you: obstinate, strict, sharp, neat, but driven by love.

I knew right away that she wouldn't give me peace until she understood, so I showed her the bits I felt most guilty of. I flashed the most monstrous things I have done in her head, and yet, she didn't run away screaming. She wanted to know how hard it was to learn to control myself like I did, asked me if they all went a bit crazy in the beginning, and I told her.

She made me a deal then; said that we wait for a bit, but I must cure him when he gets stable or else she will tell my secret to the other staff members. I asked her why she thought I wouldn't kill her before she would be able to do so, and she drug out a single Vervain blade… I don't think I laughed harder in my life.

Anyway... We grew close as Andrews condition improved slowly, talked about the state of our country, about the growing numbers of vampires, my time at the witch camp, their wedding and I couldn't stop myself from noticing how beautifully she was anymore, didn't fight the fire that was her personality and started to fall in love with the way she loved. I wanted her, longed for her, yet knew that I could never take her away from her husband… So after he got better, we stayed in touch. I bought them this house, made sure they had everything they could ever wanted, that they were safe, and visited as often as I could. Andrew knew the real reason, he told me that himself once, but didn't try to get me to stop coming over. He was too grateful, too nice; and he knew I would never hurt them… We learned to be like brothers.

I didn't get to see them much during the war- there was too much work and I was treating people on both sides. I knew I would be fighting with the south, even if I didn't want to, if my father was still alive; I understood the youth who was forced into that situation, but was too scared to leave.

About a year before the whole thing ended, I came to the hospital and found everyone in frenzy. I was called to the case almost immediately. made sure of that, saying that I am the only one who could possibly help. I didn't give it too much thought, figured someone was so badly injured that they thought I was the only one who could stomach it, but I was wrong, so wrong…

There were three of them: a woman and two males, in places ripped open to the bones, bites all over them, too many of them to count and that wasn't the worst part. The woman and the older male were unconscious, but the younger one just lay there, not making a sound until he noticed me. He tried to hurt himself, pleading me to take his blood, told me how sweet it was… I couldn't stand it. I have never seen something so sickening before. I did many horrible things in those sixty years, yes. But would I do this? Never.

The bites were a work of newbies, vampires with no control,… It must have been them, Irefused to believe otherwise,but there was a whole group of them?We never did that. And the new ones wouldn't know how to compel them this good- the victims would be screaming in agony by then. I knew what that meant.

I… I kind of broke down after that. Went to Emma's and Andrew's in the middle of that night, threw them out of bed. I knew I shouldn't do that, I knew, but I needed someone. I told her how I felt about her. She was so understanding, knew something was wrong, tried to make me feel better, and yet saying what I knew she would. She loved Andrew, after all, she was pregnant with their third child.

I grew so angry at myself and I… I lost it a bit. No one was hurt, but they never looked at me the same way again... The next time I saw Emma was just a week before she died. She was eighty three then, yet the sharpness still hasn't left her. She asked me to look after her family for her. I am still keeping that promise. We talked about everything except the politics and my job… She had a good life."

He took a pause, then reluctantly returned back to his life story.

"I started to investigate the whole thing as soon as I was stable enough, and soon learned that those three weren't the only cases. People went missing. Solders, families who's bodies were never found... of course every side blamed the other, but there were stories about some of them returning as monsters, killing their loved ones. Everyone was so busy killing their enemies they never gave it much thought. It was the perfect time to create a whole army of vampires, and someone was well aware of that.

I came to the Bennet's, warned them , said they might need to flee. If someone knew about us, why wouldn't he know about the witches too? Besides the werewolves, they were the only ones who could be a match for us in strength. And I was sure the ones creating this unstoppable army wouldn't want that. I asked them for one more thing before they left to Europe, thought and as they promised, they complied me. They sealed this house from all vampires but me with the power of their dead. The spell that will go on forever, forever keep them safe…

There isn't much to tell after that. I went to look for the creators, but was far from careful enough. They had a web of sympathisers, and I got caught. It wasn't nice… They thought I was a spy maybe, an opponent. They were talkative enough, though. Said that the people I tried to save would die anyway, that they just helped them a bit before that. That the humans don't realize how much better we could all live if there was symbiosis. That none of them would have to die, that they need us to protect them.

They said that the army was only a backdrop, a tool to insure peace. They said they will rehabilitate the newbies after, helped them adjust. Said that the humans I saw were compelled not to feel any pain, that they were necessary victims to insure a bright future. They asked me how long I had to hide from them, of how many attacks on vampires I heard in the last year. How many stories of people stuffing them in churches and burning them. They told me about their idea for the system, the people giving blood a few times a year in order to stay protected, convinced me that there would be no victims, that it was the only solution. I knew some of their attitude was faked. I knew that, but I didn't think much about it. The whole thing was the only solution, right? The _perfect_ solution. If they weren't doing it for the humans, they were doing it to protect themselves.

They offered me a job at the CRS in the making. A centre to protect the vampires, protect the humans form the supernatural… And I accepted.

It took me a while to notice how the mentality of the vampires has changed by the thoughts of their superiority. I believed in the idea of peace. I didn't need to hide anymore, didn't need to feel guilty for what I was; and that was just enough to outweigh that I had to cover my eyes from some things from time to time. I didn't even want to go to Europe when Stefan showed up on my doorstep around a hundred years ago. I was blinded, blinded by the freedom I had; and it didn't hurt that I had a lot of power. Even the wars I only took as an accustoming period. I never saw the system breaking; never saw it your way before. It was the perfect solution to all I ever wanted. It was necessary."

"Maybe it was, but not like this. It wasn't made to create peace-it was made to create a hegemony, a dictatorship. Power is all the Michelson's ever wanted." Elena pointed out, leaning her head back until it pressed against the wall. "The system has to be there, but it shouldn't be like this."

"So, we change it." Damon's words were quiet, but certain. "And we will do anything we need to do so."

He could imagine the twinkles in her eyes when she looked at him, feel the smile on her face growing. "Even go to Europe?"

He offered his hand to her and smiled when she took it, sealing his words by placing a kiss on her knuckles.

"Even that."

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**Thanks to jairem, vladelena, gaudeamusigitur, delenalu (check your e-mail friend ;)) and fanaticalParadox (I am SO sorry you had to wait so long, but I hope you liked this chapter. My mother tongue is Slovene. :) ) who reviewed the last chapter. I know it has been long, but I hope you are still as interested in this story as I know I am. Much love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys :) **

**I have got a new chapter for you and I really like how it turned out. Let me know what **_**you **_**thought of it by leaving a review if you can, since I really like to read all your theories and thoughts on the story and characters. I will leave you to read now…. Hope you like it. :) **

**Much love,**

**AGirlThatDaresToDream**

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**This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.**

**The parts of the story that are written **_like this_** are flashbacks.**

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**Chapter 25**

_»So that's where we are going? Europe? « Damon asked her after managing to break himself from the gaze they got lost in, forcing her back to the calmness of her bedroom immediately when she nodded. _

"_We had a meeting earlier… Ethan said that I am like a safe and the power I am believed to be holding is hidden deep inside me, that my whole being is designed to protect it; and so the only way of letting it loose is using a key. It is a spell," she looked at him. "A Bennet spell. Jonas must be one of the male descendants of their bloodline, who hasn't left. He has this book…"_

"_A grimoire?" The surprise was still evident in his voice. _

"_That would be the word for it. They showed it to me… it was beautiful, full of colours and stories, instructions and potions, full of spells. There is only one page of it missing. The story about creatures like me is there, but the instructions to the key spell? All gone. Ripped out, the whole of it. Ethan believes that the witches have it. They managed to track the coven down. And like you said, they fled to Europe. When you said you knew them… I kept thinking if they knew. If they left the book here on purpose, to guide us to them…"_

"_Emily." He interrupted her, his heart racing. "If they knew to do so it was because of her. They took her sayings to heart even after her death, writing them down, promising her spirit they would hold on to them…"_

"_But that would mean-"_

"_She knew." Damon brought his head against the wall, the pain of the collision causing the same effect as icy weather, freezing the rush of unnecessary thoughts in an instant. "She knew everything, knew all this would happen, knew what I would do, knew she had to save me." He tightened his grip on his hair, his teeth hurting from the pressure he put on them, Elena's voice his only anchor to the reality. It was all outlined, his every reaction predicted, everything he did in his life was bringing him to her. _

He tried to get his head around that information now, as he plunged himself onto the living room couch, his side feeling strange from the lack of her weight, his heart torn between his chest and the bedroom she was trying to sleep in. It hurt her to not be with him too, he learned from the way she slipped her hands out of his hesitantly as the night fell, like the feeling was alien to her. She hated falling asleep alone, he knew, but it seemed like the reality of their stories has finally drowned on both of them. They needed this evening, needed its' time, its' darkness and its' comfort before they could return to how things were before. And they respected than.

Damon's thoughts fled back to his theory again. Could it really be true? When he first saw Elena in the centre, he was sure she was his last chance to redeem himself. That she was a sign for him that after everything he has done in his darkest period could still be irrigated; and yet it seemed now that he could be wrong. Was all that death he sowed always meant to happen? It seemed too harsh to be only a step in someone's plan, but if he didn't have all that guilt following him around... would he even care to help her, even talk to her, get to know her?

He shook his head to clear it a bit again. No, he refused to believe that. He refused to believe that he had no real choice, that he was just a puppet created so that he would make the right decisions for this grand plan to succeed. Maybe Emily really helped him out of pure gratefulness only. She might have not said anything about the spell after all; and one of the witches only remembered that it wouldn't be good for it if the vampires found it in a hurry, tearing it out and leaving the grimoire there due to the limitation in baggage allowance. Maybe all he did was his after all. He couldn't let the guilt slide away from him so easily. He did those things on his own, he wanted to do them and he did. It was his hands that were bloody. Not some imaginary spirit's ones.

Sudden footsteps brought him back to awareness, the armchair in front of him creaking under the weight of Alaric Saltzman. Damon had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Let me guess... Ethan sent you?"

"Nope." The teacher replied, a small smile on his face. "I came myself, figured the others would sleep better if I they knew I had an eye on you."

"Yeah, like that's going to help them if I flip out." Damon snorted into his glass of bourbon, before gulping down its content.

Alaric shrugged, unaffected. "It is worth a chance."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe you just came here because you are curious... Tell me. What is it that you want exactly?"

"Well, I guess first you could tell me what are you up to."

Damon threw him a look, before glancing at the stairs behind him. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Elena." The vampire didn't like hearing the name on the man's lips. "What do you think we would do? Tie her up and throw her on a boat to Europe without your knowledge?"

"If the world was falling apart today, wouldn't you? You don't really care about what she thinks. If she wouldn't agree with your plan, would you just let her go?" He seemed to have successfully shut the man's mouth for a minute. "She stays safe, she goes only where she wants to go and I will ensure that."

Alaric smiled at that. "This thing you two have… It's pretty strong, huh?"

Damon sent him a glare. "That's none of your business."

The man's smile hadn't fallen. "But it is. Her aunt is pretty worried- you know that, right?"

"She has no reason to be."

"But we all are. Nobody really knows what happened to the girl while she was in the centre."

"And you won't ask her." Damon's face grew even more serious now, sensing how his voice softened before the next sentence left his lips. "She has been through enough."

"And you did talk to her about it when she needed to?"

The vampire nodded. "Every time."

The man thought a little, then changed his approach. "She seems to trust you enough-"

"I try to give her reasons to."

"And you never hurt her, when she was in there?"

"Not when I wasn't forced to, no."

Alaric's gaze has turned black, his body tensing. "What does that mean?"

"They… They wanted me to cut her open. I did. She was on anaesthetics, but something went wrong at the end. I tried to get them to let her have enough time to recover. They didn't. We didn't really stick to the procedures after that. We talked a lot more. I brought her stuff." Damon felt like he needed his co-speaker to understand. "We grew closer. But then Elijah Michelson came to visit. He figured it out. They reassigned me off her case… I got her out soon after that."

"And you did that why exactly? You lost everything when you did so."

"That didn't matter to me. She needed to get out of the centre in order to stay alive." He looked Alaric straight in the eye. "I would do it again."

"For her or for yourself?"

Damon could almost see his words crushing every notion of who they thought he was in the man's mind, stating them firmly, certainly, with the weight they deserved.

"For both of us."

…

"Shit!" His friend's voice suddenly changing its volume almost caused Alaric to jump. They were in the room which has been successfully turned into their groups' base a day ago. The curtains were drawn tight, the light on the device sitting amongst countless papers and Jonas's books green. The table was a mess, the chairs scattered and the sofa complained about Ethan's fist colliding with one of its seats with a loud creek.

Alaric hasn't seen the man get so angry in years, observing him carefully as he slowly ran his hand over his face trying to collect himself, knowing him well enough to understand that he will tell him what is wrong as soon as he gains control again and not ending up disappointed.

"They learned who they will actually be smuggling."

Alaric could see how that could be a problem. No one would want to spend weeks being stuck on a ship with a vampire. "And?"

"They calculated their profit. Said that if we don't deliver more money for the girl and the vampire than the award money from the government for them is, they will sell us out." One of Ethan's hands was now wrinkling his forehead.

Agarics chest grew heavy. "How much?"

"More than a million, just for the two of them to be taken to Europe… Plus five thousand dollars for anyone else."

"A million?! What did you say?"

"That we would deliver?" The teacher could almost feel his eyebrows preparing to jump out of his skull; his friend lifting his hands in defeat. "What! I didn't really have a choice, did I?"

"And what are we going to do now, just mislead them into thinking that we can actually afford this? What happens when they figure out that we can't? The government could get to our location in less than fifteen minutes with nothing else but our blocked number!"

"That's not our only problem right now, though. The vampires are enhancing their search, heightening their security on every gas station, every border with every day without success. The guys that we are in contact with… They don't want to wait anymore, saying that we are dragging them deeper and deeper by waiting, making them more vulnerable…They are increasing the cost by the hour. "

Alaric's hands grew shaky now, the fear on his face a complete copy of those on Ethan's, cooling his soul as he asked the most important of questions: "What are we going to do?"

…

"We are leaving tonight." Alaric's words caused Jenna to freeze, her heart clenching even more after she was able to take in the expressions of her wards, Jeremy's full of shock while Elena's was filled with dread, her hand finding the vampire's and squeezing it like a vice. "Tonight?" She managed to squeak out, her voice barely hearable and shaky.

Ethan nodded. "Unfortunately the smugglers are more interested in money than in their country's future… And they are lifting the cost every hour. They said we only have today to decide what to do."

"How much?" The vampire was the first to understand what the man actually told them, his furious eyes focused on Alaric. "How much do they want?"

"A million and a half, for both of you and five thousand for each of the others." The teacher responded, causing Jenna to suck in a breath.

"And still they could hand us over and get another million as soon as we arrive to the harbour? Are you crazy?"

"It's the risk that we are bound to take."

"Well you shouldn't be. You said you will get her to Europe safely!"

"And we will." Alaric involved himself in Ethan's and Damon's conversation again. "We worked with the guys we are currently in contact with for many years and they never once broke our deal. Sure they might be a bit money driven, but I don't believe that they would sell us out. And besides… We really have no choice. The security is increasing with every passing day that the government doesn't find Elena and I am afraid that if we wait we won't have a chance to get out of the country at all."

"So you… have the money?" Jeremy asked, his voice small.

Ethan sighed. "Not exactly… But we are sure we will be able to strike a deal with them after you actually arrive. I don't think they are actually expecting us to deliver the whole sum."

Jenna's nephew's eyebrows creased. "You are not coming?"

The man wagged his head. "Alaric's ticket will be expensive enough."

"I can get you the money." The vampire broke the momentarily silence. "For Elena and me. If anything might insure that they don't betray us, it will be a raise."

Jenna saw Elena's gaze turn to the vampire in wonder, but he brushed it off with a shrug. "I didn't really have the need to spend much in the last two centuries." Then as she started to complain "Really it is not even a problem."

Jenna grew stiff as she watched them, watched Elena so relaxed a small smile appearing on his lips as she thanked him. Was there really something there? Did he really love her? Surely not, right? The teacher told her all about his conversation with the creature, his side of the story, his answers and she couldn't have been more worried. She didn't even have a real conversation with her niece since their reunion, starting to believe that the teen was avoiding it but knew that wasn't Elena's fault. She still didn't know how to act around her, how to speak to her. Should she ask her what happened? She didn't even know if the vampire told Ric the truth. Sure, he looked intrigued enough in the girl, but what if it was only for his own benefits? Jenna wasn't stupid; she knew that the group would never help them if there wasn't for Elena's change. Why wouldn't this be true for the vampire too?

Anyway, they looked even closer than before. Calmer, more at peace. She didn't know how this could result out of their yesterday's argument, but it did, leaving her more confused than ever.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Elena's voice again, so close and yet as far away from her as she imagined their once almost sisterly relationship to be. Her tone was stronger now, determined.

"So…. What's the plan?"

…

Elena's movements were rapid as she turned from her dresser and back to her bed, another one of her shirts ending up in a used, black and red backpack. It seemed to her like her hands were purposely trying to distract her from her thoughts as she foundered the few clothes she will be able to take with her; and yet the images in her head still held her captive. From moment Ethan told them the news, through the arguments and disagreements they stayed with her, separating her from this world, dragging her down and placing her into the darkest of scenarios. She shuddered. She couldn't go back to the centre, she couldn't; and yet she knew she had to do this. She knew that even thought their lack a plan she should go. She had to do this and she hated feeling so lost. Lost because she didn't know what to expect at all, what to feel about their sudden departure. She was scared, that something would go wrong, of course, but that didn't quite cover it. There was this strange feeling inside of her, its sparkles igniting an urge to leave, telling her that things needed to move, that this house was trapping her, holding her back; and yet she didn't want to leave, not really. Elena stopped momentarily, sighing as she looked across her room. This place has become her home, and she would miss it.

A soft knocking echoed from the door, causing her to smile, recognizing the pattern immediately, her predictions confirmed when the vampire joined her after her come in, his shoulder brushing against hers as he picked one of her t-shirts and started to help her without saying a word. He always seemed to know what she needed, the comfortable silence between them more outspoken than a thousand words. He will wait until she will be ready to speak, Elena knew, but right now all she needed was his presence. It seemed to her that they were even closer now than they were before, that telling each other their stories freed them, tied them together. And none of them minded.

It didn't take them more than a few minutes to finish packing and they threw themselves on the bed when they did, their hands intertwined as they stared at the dust dancing in the afternoon sunrays, before Elena let her thought spill into his ears.

"I wish that we wouldn't have to go. That we could stay here."

"This house is nice," Damon nodded, one of his hands running over the wood of the nightstand as his mind seemed to drift somewhere else, before he spoke to her again. "You still can change your mind, you know?"

"Damon…"

He squeezed her hand gently, to stop her words, now present, composed, his serious facade breaking into a cheeky smile, causing her to roll her eyes. "Seriously?"

He winked at her. "It was worth a try."

She slapped his chest lightly, turning away so that he wouldn't be able to see her face, staying silent until the fear that was filling her heart again became too strong, her tone quiet then, worried.

"I just hope that everything will turn out okay. Our trip to the harbour wasn't supposed to be improvisational like this, they said that it would be cautious,…" her voice broke a little and she had to take a breath before continuing, hoping that the vampire didn't see the water that started to gather in her eyes. "said it will be safe."

She didn't fight Damon when he reached for her and bathed in the feeling as she collided with his chest, holding herself tightly to him by grabbing on to his shirt. Of course he figured her out anyway. He never failed to.

"It will be safe." He sounded confident when he spoke again, his eyes dark as she looked at them, stern. "_You_ will be safe."

She ran her hand down his cheek in a silent thank you, before she continued. "I know you will be there, Damon…. But it is not just me that I am worried about. Jeremy, Jenna and Alaric… Their lives are just as important."

She could feel him smile sadly against her hair, one of his fingers trailing the edges of her snow-white wings and she knew what he did no say exactly,_ not to me_ echoing in his actions, growing louder and louder in their silence, causing her to groan.

"I don't even know what I am doing, Damon. This power that they say is inside me… I don't even feel it. They keep telling me that I can help and I would like nothing more than to make a change, but I am not an angel. Wings or no wings, I am just me." She raised her head to look at his expression. "I am sorry, but I am not what you think I am and whatever you think I can do for you… I just can't."

"But you already did do it, Elena. You showed me that I could really be happy again, showed me how beautiful the world is, trusted me even when I didn't trust myself, believed that I wouldn't hurt you, believed that I would do the right thing until doing that by you was all that mattered, you gave me your friendship, your forgiveness and I needed all that, I really did. It is not because of what you became after the accident that I need you. It is because of you. Because of who you are as a person. You are kind and sweet and loving and precious, so precious to me I don't think I could live if something happened to you and that makes you way more important than the others. I will do what I can to help them if something happens tomorrow…. But I _need_ to keep _you_ safe."

All Elena could do was look at him when he spoke, his eyes drawing her in with the love they held as gratefulness flowed through her. Gratefulness for his words, for always being there, for knowing what to say at all times, knowing what to make all things seem better. Gratefulness for being nice to her in the centre, for talking to her, freeing her… Even if all he saw in her than was a broken angel. She was so thankful for his belief, thankful for his acceptance, for his understanding, for showing her his vulnerability, his tenderness, his humanity.

His hands fell to her sides as she turned in their embrace, the pull towards him growing stronger when their eyes locked, their souls meeting and their hearts sang as her lips brushed softly against his.

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**I want to thank sloksingh45, jairem, gaudeamusigitur, vladelena and delenalu for brightening my days with their thought on the last chapter. You are awesome! **


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